


Record of the Yokai's Bride

by EntameWitchLulu



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Background Relationships, Blood, M/M, Yôkai, vaguely based on the manga Black Bird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26593072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntameWitchLulu/pseuds/EntameWitchLulu
Summary: Yuya once made a promise to a childhood friend to marry him one day, when his friend returned. Years later, it seems like nothing more than the whimsy of children, and he has more important things to worry about: like what he's going to do after high school, and trying to pretend he can't see the strange creatures called yokai hiding around every corner.But when he's attacked by a vicious yokai and rescued by his mysterious childhood friend Reiji, Yuya discovers that he is the center of an ancient yokai prophecy that promises prosperity to any yokai who claims his hand in marriage - or eternal life to the yokai that eats him!
Relationships: Akaba Reiji/Sakaki Yuya
Comments: 39
Kudos: 42





	1. Prologue (The Promise)

_Eight Years Ago_

He ran with his goggles held over his eyes with both hands, trying to still his sniffles as the laughter echoed after him. Would they follow him? Could he run fast enough to get away before the big one made good on its threats to eat him? He stumbled over the roots of the trees in the old garden, tripping over his shoelaces as he struggled to find his way to the garden gate.

Hope reached his ears in the sound of the gate rattling, the sound of the old wooden door swinging open. He flung himself forward, falling into the open arms of the boy who had opened the gate.

“Yuya? Are you all right?”

The soft, familiar voice was so welcome Yuya almost started crying again. He buried his face into the boy’s chest.

“T-They tricked me into the garden, Reiji,” he cried, clutching at the folds of the boy’s kimono. “They locked the gate on me. T-they said they were going to eat me.”

Reiji’s eyes narrowed when Yuya looked up at him, glare shooting out into the garden behind him. He curled one hand protectively over Yuya’s, holding it close to him, as he wrapped the other arm around his shoulders.

Yuya heard the rustle of bushes, and furtively glanced back. Reiji had already leveled his cold gaze on the yokai behind him. The tiny yokai flitted among the flowers, looking like big stag beetles with masked human faces; the bigger one loomed in the shadows of a tree like a furry shadow with arms, and two huge round eyes leering hungrily at Yuya. Yuya shivered, burying himself into Reiji’s grip.

Reiji’s gaze grew colder as he glared at them, tightening one arm around Yuya.

“Get out,” he snapped. “No one gave you permission to do such mischief in our garden.”

“He smells so good, though,” one of the little yokai whined. “You can’t blame us.”

“You can’t keep such a delicious meal all to yourself,” the other hummed.

Reiji stiffened, his spine going totally straight. Yuya almost imagined he saw fire flickering in his eyes. Nervous, he closed his eyes tightly.

“He is not yours to take,” Reiji said, voice even and cold as ice.

He raised one hand, and Yuya felt a trembling pass through the air, like the echo of an earthquake that didn’t touch the ground. When he opened his eyes again, the yokai had disappeared. His shoulder slumped. More tears blurred his eyes and filled his goggles as the relief overtook him with a trembling.

Yuya sniffled. His hands shook. Reiji held him for a moment longer, his arms soft and gentle around him. Then, gently, he lifted Yuya’s goggles from his eyes. Yuya’s tears bubbled free of them in a rush that plopped onto the grass below. With one cool finger, Reiji wiped them away.

“It’s all right,” he said softly. “They won’t bother you anymore.”

Yuya sniffled, still trembling.

“W-was he really going to eat me?” he mumbled.

Reiji pursed his lips, as though considering how to answer the question. In the end, he seemed to decide on the truth.

“It may have,” he said. “Some yokai do enjoy eating humans.”

Yuya shivered, and then he couldn’t stop. Reiji reached for his face again, gently pushing the tears away.

“But they won’t,” he said, gently. “I won’t let them.”

Reiji’s hands were soft and kind, and so reassuring. When he took Yuya in another soft hug, Yuya closed his eyes and stood there a moment longer, feeling the trembles fade out of him slowly. Reiji always came to his rescue.

“I’m sorry,” Yuya said. “I always cry so much....”

Reiji shook his head. His hand rested on the back of Yuya’s head for a moment, and then ran gently, reassuringly through his hair.

“You don’t have to apologize. There is no shame in crying.”

For a soft moment, they held just like that, quiet and calm. Yuya’s heart finally began to slow. As long as Reiji was around, he thought, he’d be okay. After a few more moments, Reiji sighed softly. He stepped back, though he took Yuya’s hand.

His eyes lifted up to the garden, and another faint sigh escaped his lips. His fingers squeezed Yuya’s.

“Yuya,” he said softly. “Don’t come to this house anymore. Not for a while.”

Yuya’s head jerked up. The calm from before vanished, replaced with a sharp alarm.

“What? Why?”

Reiji dropped his eyes to the ground. He still Yuya’s hand, and Yuya reached out to grab his other one. Why wouldn’t Reiji look at him?

“I have to leave,” he said. “I won’t be able to protect you from the yokai here.”

Yuya’s eyes widened. He felt a fresh wave of tears bubble at the back of his eyes, but he tried to force them back.

“Leaving? Why are you leaving? Don’t leave!”

He couldn’t actually do it. His throat tightened and his eyes blurred over with more tears. He let go of Reiji’s hands to wipe them away furiously.

“I’ll be back,” Reiji said, laying his hand on Yuya’s head gently. “I promise. But there’s something I have to do.”

“When?” Yuya demanded. “When will you be back?”

Reiji’s smile was soft, and somewhat sad.

“I don’t know. Soon, I hope. But until then, I want you to stay away from here. Stay away from strange yokai. Don’t talk to them. Don’t let them know you can see them.”

Yuya sniffled again, trying hard to understand. Why was his friend leaving him? The only friend he had who knew what he could see, who knew how to make the mean yokai leave him alone. Reiji couldn’t leave. How could he handle seeing the scary yokai without him?

“But why?” Yuya demanded again, nose wrinkling as he tried and failed to stop crying. “Is it cause I’m always crying? I’ll stop crying! I promise!”

Reiji’s smile turned sadder. He leaned forward and wiped Yuya’s tears from his eyes with his thumbs, cupping Yuya’s face a moment.

“That’s not it. I don’t mind if you cry, Yuya. But there’s something I have to do. And when I’m done, I’ll come back.”

“And you’ll stay?” Yuya asked, voice trembling.

Reiji smiled. There was something far away about him all of a sudden, as though he were already gone. But he returned, then, his eyes meeting Yuya’s.

“I’ll stay forever,” he said, “if that’s what you want, when we meet again.”

“Of course I do!” Yuya said immediately. “I want you to stay forever!”

Reiji let his hands drift away from Yuya’s face. As he stepped back, Yuya followed him out the garden gate, and around the old house that stood next to his own. He stayed on Reiji’s heels all the way to the front of the house - a wagon was parked there, as odd and out of place amidst the cars as Reiji’s old, traditional Japanese house was out of place in Yuya’s neighborhood. Two figures in kimono and veils stood at the wagon; Yuya didn’t know them, but he’d seen people like them working in Reiji’s house before.

Reiji turned to Yuya once more.

“You’re leaving right _now_ ?” Yuya said, eyes widening. He’d thought Reiji meant he was moving _soon_ . Not right _now_.

“I have to,” Reiji said softly. “I’m sorry. It happened quickly for me, too. It’s why I came to find you.”

Yuya grabbed his hand.

“Do you have to?” he asked again. “Do you really really have to?”

Reiji gave him one of those soft, kind smiles again. He curled his fingers around Yuya’s.

“I’ll be back,” he said, in a voice that was so heavy with the promise that Yuya could almost feel it tightening around their clasped hands, binding them together. “And...when I do...”

He hesitated, only a moment. For a moment, Yuya thought his hand might slip away from him, that he might hop into the wagon without finishing his sentence. Then he tightened his grip for a breath more, something steeling in his eyes.

“When I return, Yuya, will you marry me?”

The words slipped out of him almost as though he hadn’t intended on speaking them. But they hung the air nonetheless, heavier than Yuya knew how to comprehend.

Yuya didn’t know much about marriage. He knew his parents were married, and that his best friend Yuzu’s dad had been married one time. He knew that getting married meant you really liked someone, and that you wanted to stay with them forever.

And he really liked Reiji, and he wanted to stay with him, wanted Reiji to stay with him, forever and ever. So that meant, if he and Reiji got married, then Reiji would never go away again.

“Yes!” he said, without hesitation.

Reiji blinked. For a moment, his lips parted, as though the answer surprised him. Then a smile broke his lips, and he shook his head with a strange look of relief.

“I should have known that’s how you’d respond,” he said.

He squeezed Yuya’s hand once more, and turned away, fingers slipping from Yuya’s. Yuya hurried after him. He almost wanted to climb into the wagon after him, to go wherever it was that Reiji was going. But he didn’t. He watched as Reiji climbed into the wagon and it began to roll away. Yuya chased it down the road, ignoring the weird looks he got from people walking their dogs down the sidewalk.

“It’s a promise, Reiji!” he shouted. “I promise! So you have to keep your promise! You have to come back!

“You absolutely, absolutely, absolutely have to come back!”


	2. The World Only He Sees

_ There are...so many yokai today _ .

Yuya forced a smile at someone who called his name in the hallway, raising a hand in greeting - and pretending that he could actually see whoever had just called to him, and not the huge hairy monster that stood in front of them. 

He let his eyes slide off of the oval shaped creature that seemed to be nothing more than long black hair and a big eye peering out through its bangs, as though waiting for him to acknowledge he could see it. He had to let his gaze bounce off of what appeared to be a giant, pulsing sea cucumber with a sucker mouth attached to the window, swallowing down the burst of panic at seeing the two girls leaning against the wall right near it, unaware of its presence.

But if they couldn’t see the yokai, it couldn’t hurt them. Usually. So he smiled, waved at his classmates, and carefully avoided making eye contact with the menagerie of creatures coating the hallways.

He focused a little  _ too  _ hard, trying not to look at the leering face of a woman with dark black hair hanging out of the ceiling upside down, and smacked into someone.

“Oh, oops, sorry! Didn’t see you there,” Yuya said, hurriedly bouncing back from the person he’d collided with.

“You’re fine, I’m all right,” the boy said, smiling with his eyes closed. Oh, Yuya recognized him - wasn’t he...Mokota? Mokota Michio, from the class next door? They’d spoken a few times. He was like, some cooking whiz or something. He’d heard some girls in his class fawning over how cute he was, once. “You should be careful in the hallway!”

“Ahaha, yeah, you’re not the first person to tell me that,” Yuya said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, sorry, you dropped your stuff.”

He’d just noticed the folders scattered over the floor, and knelt to start scooping them up.

“Thanks, Sakaki,” Michio said, smiling gratefully as he too knelt down to help. “Hey, actually, I meant to ask you...”

Yuya blinked, looking up as he tapped the folders against the ground to straighten them. Was it him, or was something...different about Michio today? Well, not that he knew him very well, but...

“Yeah?” he asked, when Michio didn’t continue for a beat.

Michio startled, as though stirring from some thought. He smiled that same old smile of his.

“Well, I hate to ask, but do you think you could meet me after school today...? I have something I need to ask you about.”

“Me?”

He handed the folders to Michio as they both stood up.

“I’ll be by the cherry tree near the soccer fields after school,” Michio said. “Please meet me there, okay?”

“You can’t ask me right now?” Yuya asked, frowning.

“Well, class is about to start,” Michio pointed out, and as though in response, the first bell chimed. Yuya bit back a swear — he was gonna be late at this rate. His class was on the other end of the hall.

Michio smiled at him again, and patted his shoulder as he walked past him.

“After school, all right? I’ll be waiting.”

Before Yuya could ask him anything else, he was off, and Yuya was going to have to jog to make it to his classroom while avoiding running into any yokai. Geez, what could Michio want? And...oh, crap!! He had a career counseling meeting after school! Dammit...he’d have to explain to Michio later. 

He avoided the gazes of what felt like a hundred yokai crowding the hallway, managing to pretend to trip enough times to avoid walking into any of them, and one way or another, he managed to get to class, already exhausted. He groaned as he flopped face first onto his desk dramatically.

In front of him, Yuzu let out a soft laugh.

“Long night?” she asked.

“Long morning,” he said.

He shifted his chin up onto his arms so he could see Yuzu in front of him, turned around in her chair with her arm leaned against the back. Her lips quirked in a half smile, pink hair pulled back into a ponytail today rather than her usual pigtails. For a moment, she looked around the classroom, then at Yuya, raising her eyebrows.

“The usual kind of long morning, or some other kind of long morning?”

He took a look around the room himself. Students were flowing in, shouting and yelling, throwing papers at each other, jabbering about their plans for the upcoming weekend, showing off cell phone charms or phone numbers they’d gotten from cute strangers. And among them, as well, were yet more yokai. A severed head sat on one girl’s desk, staring hollow-eyed at the binder she had propped open against the edge. A blue flame hung from the ceiling, swinging softly every time someone came through the door. There was  _ something _ inside that guy’s bag in the seat in front of Yuzu, but he couldn’t quite tell what.

“It’s an excessive amount of the usual,” he said.

Yuzu frowned, but she didn’t continue the conversation. Yuzu was one of the few people who knew that Yuya could see yokai, and also knew that talking about it in public was a surefire way to get their attention. He couldn’t account for why there were so many more at school than usual, but it just meant he couldn’t say anything out loud without letting them know he could see them. And that was always trouble.

As the teacher slid the door open and the students began to settle, Yuya let his head fall back onto his arms crossed on the desk, tuning out. Pretending to sleep through class was the easiest way to avoid accidentally looking at a yokai.

Plus, he had plenty to think about: Michio’s weird request, the number of yokai in the school, and the dreaded career counseling session. He closed his eyes, and let his mind drift.

* * *

Fudo-sensei let out a long-suffering sigh as he set the blank page down in front of him, eyes sliding over to Yuya. Yuya squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Something about the way his teacher managed to turn a neutral gaze into something that looked like a disappointed father was a talent he was renowned for among the student base, as well as being renowned for being exceptionally attractive among most of the female student body. Hell, even Yuya couldn’t disagree with that. Fudo-sensei was young to be a teacher, and his sharp blue eyes and dark hair were enough to make anyone think he should be a movie star, not a high school teacher.

“Still not finished filling out your career form?” Fudo-sensei asked. There was a gentleness to the way he said it, but it only made Yuya feel worse, like he’d somehow disappointed him.

“I guess...I’m just not all that good at making decisions,” he said.

Fudo-sensei hummed softly, drumming his fingers on the table once.

“When you first came to school, all you could talk about was how you wanted to go into acting,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Did you decide against it?”

“I...”

Yuya’s voice trailed off. Sure, he’d wanted to be an actor since he was a kid, to do something with entertainment, like his famous stage magician father. He wanted to...he wanted to bring people happiness, to put smiles on people’s faces, like his father. But, well, his father had pulled the ultimate trick and disappeared three years ago. Since then...the dream seemed to be souring. 

“I guess I started thinking maybe I should just go to college first,” Yuya said. “Because acting isn’t super stable, but then...I couldn’t decide on a college.”

He scrunched his shoulders around his ears, feeling very small under his teacher’s gaze. Fudo-sensei considered him for what felt like a long moment, head resting against his hand. Yuya tried to ignore the blue creature with a pot on its head crouching on Yusei’s desk, near his arm. It was so distracting, trying to focus with those things all over the place...why was it that only he could see them, anyway? Who’d decided that was fair?

“I think, what you need, Sakaki-san,” Fudo-sensei said, “is to try to remember what it is you want.”

Yuya frowned, brow furrowing.

“I mean...isn’t that what this meeting is for?”

Fudo-sensei shook his head.

“I don’t mean what you want for your career,” he said. “I mean something you  _ want _ . Something that makes you want to walk forward to get to it.”

He tilted his head slightly, dark eyes holding Yuya’s gaze.

“I think somewhere along the way, you’ve lost that feeling,” he said softly. “And it’s hard to build a future without it.”

Yuya bit his lip. That  _ might _ be true, but...it was kind of annoying how every meeting he had with Fudo-sensei felt like it turned into a therapy session. He wanted something more concrete...or honestly, even to just be scolded. It would be easier than having to think about the stuff that Fudo-sensei always seemed to try to make him think about.

“I...I guess I have to think about it some more,” Yuya said.

Fudo-sensei nodded. He pushed the blank sheet back to Yuya, and Yuya reluctantly took it.

“I’m going to give you a little longer to turn this in,” Fudo-sensei said. “Take your time. And take care of yourself.”

“I will, thanks, sensei.”

Yuya quickly grabbed his bag and hurried off, before he could let his gaze wander to the pot-headed yokai again. God, he just wanted to go  _ home _ and hide his head in a pillow. Maybe scream a little. Today was such a headache.

What he  _ wanted _ ? He wanted to not have to overthink  _ not _ looking at every yokai that showed up in the hallway, to not have to pretend to trip over his shoes to have an excuse to walk around a mask on the floor that he otherwise shouldn’t be able to see.

“That bad, huh?”

Yuzu’s voice startled him, and he looked up. She grinned at him, tossing a water bottle his way. He only barely managed to snag it before it fell to the floor.

“You waited for me?” he said, blinking.

“Duh. We’re studying tonight, remember?” she said, rapping him lightly on the forehead with her knuckles, grinning. “Getting our homework done early so we can celebrate tomorrow?”

“Celebrate?”

Yuzu laughed, covering her mouth with one hand.

“Yuya, did you forget your own _ birthday _ ? It’s  _ really _ been a rough day, huh?”

Oh  _ geez _ . What with everything, he totally  _ had _ forgotten his own birthday was tomorrow.

“I don’t know how you put up with me sometimes,” he said, unscrewing the water bottle and downing almost half of it as they made their way through the halls and outside.

“You get used to it,” she teased, ruffling his hair.

Both of their houses were pretty close to the school, so it wasn’t a long walk. To his relief, Yuzu did not ask him about the details of his career counseling session. They kept their conversation to unimportant things, like the plans for tomorrow after school, or the new music CD they’d both gotten to listen to and discuss later.

Yuya had finally started to relax, as surprise yokai became fewer and farther between the closer they got to home. Once in the safety of his house, he could tell Yuzu  _ everything _ about what had happened today, about how many yokai had been  _ everywhere _ , about Michio’s weird request and how he hadn’t been able to actually tell him he couldn’t make it. The yokai never came into his house, for some reason, which meant it was  _ safe _ . He could relax, decompress.

At least, that’s what he thought, until they crested the hill to their houses, and both of them stopped almost as one. Yuya stared down the street at the pair of moving trucks sitting in front of the house next door to his — not Yuzu’s house, but the other one. The one that stuck out.

It was the only traditional Japanese house in the whole neighborhood, complete with a big wraparound porch, peaked roof, and paper sliding doors. Next to the other modern day houses, like Yuya’s with its big glass porch, it looked completely out of place, as though it had been there since the old days and the rest of the city had just grown around it.

“Whoa, someone’s moving in?” Yuzu said, eyes widening. “Here I thought they were going to tear it down - it’s been empty for, what, a decade?”

“Eight years,” Yuya said.

His stomach turned a little bit, a sort of melancholy feeling settling over him at the sight of the trucks. Yuzu glanced at him, and seemed to notice. A little smile crossed her lips, and she elbowed him lightly.

“Aw, does someone miss his fiance?” she teased.

“Oh, come on, are you really gonna bring that up again?” Yuya said, blushing.

“What? It’s romantic! Making a promise as kids to get married when you meet again,” Yuzu said, clasping her hands together dramatically. “It’s like a fairy tale.”

Yuya rolled his eyes.

“We were  _ kids _ . I didn’t even know what marriage  _ was  _ back then.”

Yuzu sent him another meaningful, wiggly eyebrow look, and Yuya rolled his eyes at her. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for his house.

And yet...still. A strange pang of loneliness washed over him as he watched the movers lugging boxes inside. Maybe a part of him really had thought all these years that one day, the boy next door would come back...not that he wanted to get married or anything, like he was only going to be seventeen starting tomorrow!! And he didn’t really know for sure that he wanted to get married at all, much less to a childhood crush from eight years ago who he didn’t even know anymore.

“I wonder who it is, though,” Yuzu said, following after him. “Someone who’s going to move into an old place like that is probably an eccentric.”

“Well, my mom will probably have us go say hello later,” he said. “I’ll find out who’s moving in then. Come on, let’s get some snacks, I’m  _ starving _ .”

He pushed inside, weirdly feeling like he didn’t want to talk about who was moving into the house next door. It made him feel kind of...upset. As though maybe somewhere in his heart, he  _ had _ been hoping that his old friend would come back to that house again — and now, the possibility was gone. 

It felt so much like a dream, somehow. As though he’d only imagined all of it. It was hard to remember his childhood crush’s face, or even his name. And that only made him feel more melancholy.

“Hey mom, I’m home,” he called.

“Hello, Yoko-san!” Yuzu called.

“Welcome home, Yuya! Oh, and is that Yuzu I hear?”

Yuya’s mother peeked her head around the wall with a bright smile, hair pulled back in her usual ponytail and some flour on her cheek.

“You’re both just on time — I’m trying a new recipe today. I need taste testers.”

“Oh nooo,” Yuya groaned. “Come on, mom, can’t we just eat something normal??”

“Hang on,  _ I’m  _ interested,” said Yuzu. “What are you making?”

She headed to the kitchen. Yuya sighed. Yet again, mom was trying some weird new recipe that was probably going to take forever, and he was hungry  _ now _ . He followed Yuzu into the kitchen, where she was already leaning over the counter to examine whatever was in that bowl. The kitchen was, as Yuya expected, a disaster. There were bags of ingredients and bowls and utensils over every surface. Yuya wouldn’t even be able to fix up his own snack. Ugh. 

“I’m just gonna take some drinks out to the back porch,” he said. “Yuzu, come on out when you’re ready.”

“Sure,” Yuzu said, clearly preoccupied with the mysterious recipe. “Be out in a sec.”

Yuya sighed. Welp, he probably lost his study partner for today. He’d have to get his homework done on his own, so he wouldn’t have to do it on his birthday. He rummaged around in the fridge to find some iced tea and poured two glasses, leaving his mother and Yuzu behind to take them out to the back porch.

It was a nice day, cool and breezy, but the clouds were starting to gather like a blanket, coating the sky in a thin gray light. Might be a storm rolling in soon. He sighed as he sat down in one of the porch chairs, arms flopping over the side.

For a moment, he just sat, enjoying the quiet - and the lack of yokai. His heart finally felt like it could settle. He might even doze off sitting here if he wasn’t careful.

Instead, though, his head rolled slowly over to the house next door.

The Sakaki house didn’t have a fence, but the house next door did - just a low cobblestone wall, about three or four feet tall, encasing the garden. That old garden has gotten overgrown years ago with no one to take care of it. Vines crawled over the sides of the walls, and the trees were beginning to spread over into the next door yards. If someone hadn’t moved in, they probably would have ended up taken down for safety reasons. But he could still smell the scent of the flowers still growing wild inside, and it was a scent that stirred memories.

He’d played in that garden a lot with his friend. He couldn’t quite remember much of what they’d done together. But...he almost thought he remembered...telling his friend about seeing the yokai...

Or no, that wasn’t quite right...but his friend had known, hadn’t he? Or had it only been a game that he’d played along with? Yuya couldn’t remember. He groaned, massaging his temples with his fingers. It shouldn’t bother him so much how little he remembered...he’d only been nine. It made sense to forget a lot from when you were nine.

But it felt...wrong, somehow, to have forgotten so much about his friend, after how important he’d been. Yuya remembered that much at least. His friend had been...so important to him. And he...he still missed him, somehow...

A soft clicking sound stirred him from his thoughts. He blinked his eyes clear of memories, frowning. The sound came again. It sounded like...someone snipping branches. 

He leaned forward in his chair. Was someone moving around in the garden?

He almost fell over as someone rose up from where they’d been crouching behind the wall, garden shears in one hand, and shorn branches in the other.

His placid, quiet violet eyes found Yuya’s almost immediately, as though they’d been waiting to meet his. He was tall, at least a head over Yuya, with a smooth, aristocratic pale face, and dressed in a traditional kimono with a haori over the top. Red glasses sat on the bridge of his long nose, sleek silver hair trimmed neatly over his eyes.

For a moment, it was as though the world stopped. Yuya met the young man’s eyes, and felt as though there were nothing else in the world but those eyes — those  _ familiar _ eyes. 

“Rei...ji?” he whispered, the name falling from his lips before he even fully registered that he remembered it. “Reiji?”

The young man’s eyes softened, and it was so familiar that Yuya’s heart squeezed. He smiled in that faint, quiet way of his, as though nothing at all had changed in eight years.

“You remember me,” he said, inclining his head. “I’m pleased.”

Yuya’s time snapped back into motion, so fast he almost felt like he had whiplash — but he was speechless. It was — it was him. It was his friend from all those years ago, all grown up and —

And the person that nine-year-old Yuya had promised to marry when he returned.

Reiji tilted his head with that strange, faint smile of his.

“It’s been a long time, Yuya,” he said softly. “I’m glad to see you again.”


	3. Birthday

“I-it’s you!” Yuya blurted. “You...you actually — you —”

Reiji smiled — the same faint, barely there smile that Yuya remembered, as though amused by Yuya’s outburst. His face may have aged, but his expressions were exactly the same. And Yuya was somewhat surprised at how vividly he remembered, now that the young man was in front of him.

“I told you I would come back,” Reiji said,. “Did you not believe me?”

“I...it’s been eight years,” Yuya said, but it sounded sort of lame as a response.

Reiji let out a soft breath that Yuya realized was a laugh. He set down his handful of clipped branches, and leaned his shears against the wall.

“I promised you,” he said, eyes holding Yuya’s. “I will never break my promises to you.”

Yuya’s heart leaped, and he couldn’t exactly have said why. It really _was_ him. It was Reiji. Older, now, and...and _extremely_ pretty. The thought made Yuya blush, but it was true!! It was almost hard to look at him straight in the eye.

 _We also promised to get married when we were kids_ , he thought suddenly, flushing. _Does he mean — are we keeping that one too?_

He opened his mouth, almost about to ask, regardless of how weird of a question it would be to ask of someone you’d just met again for the first time in _years_.

A loud crash resounded from the kitchen, and his mother swore.

“Yuya, hun? Can you get in here? We have a kitchen emergency.”

“Oh, shoot, it’s _everywhere_ ,” Yuzu cried, and Yuya heard an accompanying clatter of pans and fumbling of feet.

He glanced furtively at the door, and then at Reiji. Reiji’s eyes softened. He tilted his head towards the house.

“Perhaps you ought to go assist,” he said. “We can catch up another time.”

Yuya wanted to protest. But Reiji was _back_! He wanted to catch up with him! To find out where he’d been all these years, and why he’d left — and why he was back! His mom could wait, couldn’t she?

Reiji tilted his head towards his garden, as though he’d somehow heard Yuya’s thoughts, lips twitching into a faint smile.

“I should finish attending to these roses. But I hope you’ll come to visit me again, like you used to.”

A blush creeped over Yuya’s cheeks again. He _had_ been over at Reiji’s place a lot when he was a kid, hadn’t he? But now when he was _seventeen_ , and Reiji was...however old he was, it seemed somehow...different to think about just walking over and letting himself into the garden.

“Yuya?? Now??” his mother yelled.

“Oh, I’m coming!” he shouted back, then looked quickly at Reiji. “Are you — going anywhere again?”

Reiji smiled, inclining his head.

“I will be here at this house for the foreseeable future.”

For some reason...that warmed Yuya. He smiled.

“I — I’ll see you soon, then!” he said. “We’ve got to talk and catch up and — and I want to know how you’re doing! And — okay, mom, I’m coming!”

Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away from Reiji’s, and hurried inside. As soon as he could, he promised himself. He’d go to see Reiji again as soon as he could.

* * *

It seemed that yesterday’s burst of yokai activity had been a fluke. He hardly saw the flicker of a demon flame anywhere on the streets or at school that morning. It was a welcome reprieve — maybe the universe was giving him a birthday present.

“Still meeting for musicals tonight, right?” Yuzu said, bumping him with her hip.

“You know it,” Yuya said, grinning. “And you have to sit through Little Shop of Horrors with me, because it’s my birthday.”

“Oh, how _could_ you,” Yuzu said dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead in mock faint.

He laughed and pushed her lightly, sending her back to her desk. 

He felt actually pretty good today! He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so psyched for the day. There were barely any yokai to pretend not to see, it was his birthday, and he and Yuzu were going to spend the whole night watching bad (and _some_ good) musicals. Mom was going to make pancakes instead of the disaster that had nearly destroyed the oven yesterday. 

And not to mention, Reiji was back! Yuya hadn’t had a chance to see him again last night, but he’d go over tomorrow for sure. Seeing him again had been such a shock...but a welcome one, he realized. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d actually missed him, and how much he was looking forward to finding out more about where he’d been, and getting to know him all over again. Sure, there was that weird promise they’d made as kids, but they’d probably just laugh about it together. It would be nice. Yuya didn’t have many people to talk to outside of Yuzu — it was hard to talk to people while also ignoring the yokai, and trying not to act weird about it. It would be good to have someone else to hang out with.

Yup, there wasn’t too much that could ruin a day like this, he thought, actually humming to himself as he slid into his seat.

Something crinkled when he reached into his desk, and he frowned. He turned his head to look inside his desk. _Please don’t be a yokai, please don’t be a yokai...._

It wasn’t, thankfully. It was a note. Hm? Had he left this here?

He unfolded the paper while Fudo-sensei called students to get back to their seats. It was a short note, short enough to read before the class rep called everyone to stand and bow.

_I missed you yesterday. I’ll be at the same spot today. Please come? I promise it won’t take long. I really need some help. -Michio_

Oh shoot. In all of yesterday’s kitchen disaster and Reiji’s appearance, Yuya had totally forgotten he’d left Michio hanging without an explanation. What did he need help with anyway?

He frowned, and stuffed the note into his pocket.

Well, if it wouldn’t take long...he could at least stop over before he met with Yuzu. At the very least, he ought to apologize for leaving him hanging.

Still, he thought, frowning as he turned his attention to the front. What did Michio need help with from him, anyway?

* * *

Yuya ran at breakneck speeds across the grounds to Michio’s meeting spot. Yuzu was grabbing some stuff from her choir club, so he had a few minutes, and wanted to get whatever this was over with. He was eager to get to the rest of his day!

Michio was already waiting under the tree, smiling.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about yesterday,” Yuya gasped as he jogged to a stop, leaning forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you about my career counseling meeting, and I — well, I’m really sorry, but I promised Yuzu I’d meet up with her soon, so I don’t have very long...”

Yuya rambled to a stop, because Michio wasn’t saying anything. He just stood there, next to the tree, looking at him, in a way that made him feel suddenly very uncomfortable. It felt suddenly oppressively quiet, and he became hyper aware of the fact that there was no one out on the soccer fields practicing today. They were just far enough away from the school building that no one would notice them over here. Why did he want to meet all the way over here...?

“Um...Michio? What was it that you needed to talk about?”

Michio sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. It sounded...wrong somehow. Like he...wasn’t used to breathing.

“I — is this going to take long? Yuzu and I have plans...it’s my birthday and we’re going to —”

“Oh, I know it is,” Michio said. His voice was — wrong. 

That wasn’t Michio’s voice. 

Yuya jolted back — too slowly. He felt something cold, and then — warm. Warmth blossomed from his neck, and he stumbled back. His pendulum clattered to the ground — the string had been cut...oh? What was...

Yuya gasped as he took another stumbling step back, clutching one hand to his neck. Warmth bloomed over his fingers, and — blood. Blood pressed against his skin. 

Bleeding. He was bleeding. How deep was it? Oh god, that was his neck. Michio had just — had just tried to — 

“Ah, you’re a little faster than I thought,” Michio said, again in that not-right voice that seemed to strain against his throat. “Or maybe this body is just a little too slow.”

Yuya pressed his hand to the cut on his neck, blood trickling between his fingers. Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit, what was — what was going on? Why was Michio — oh god, he was bleeding, his neck was bleeding, he was going to _die —_

“Wh-what are you doing?” he gasped. “M-Michio —”

“Shh,” Michio whispered, advancing on him — Yuya couldn’t get his legs to work, his head was foggy and dizzy with panic and adrenaline, the warm slickness on his palm, the sudden terror that he was — he was about to die. Michio was going to kill him. Why? Why was he — 

“Don’t worry,” Michio whispered. “It’s going to be over soon. You should be glad I’m the one who found you first. I won’t drag it out. I meant to kill you with one shot, you know, so you wouldn’t suffer. Just relax. You’re going to be eaten soon, anyway, so why not let me do it?”

Eaten? Michio was going to — to _eat_ him?

Yuya gagged, bile rising up in his throat. Oh, _god_. It wasn’t Michio. It was — Michio was a yokai. But why was he...a yokai hadn’t tried to hurt him in years. He’d been so good at pretending he couldn’t see them. Why would one suddenly target him now? Yuya couldn’t think. He was so dizzy. Was he bleeding out? He needed...a hospital...

“N-no,” Yuya gasped. “G-get away from — me —”

Michio grabbed him by the shoulder, yanking him close. His hands dug too hard into Yuya’s shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. His...his teeth were too long when he smiled.

“Just close your eyes,” he soothed. “Mm...you smell so good...I understand why everyone’s been waiting so long for you. Hey, hey, don’t struggle, don’t struggle. The more we wait, the more yokai will be attracted to your scent, and they might not be as nice as me —”

“Oh, I would agree. I certainly won’t be very nice at all.”

The cold voice cut through the haze of Yuya’s panic and pain. He sucked in a breath, eyes widening. Michio’s eyes bulged.

And then he was gone — no, not gone, flung several feet away, skidding to a stop and smacking against the tree. Yuya fell back. Strong, soft arms caught him, held him gently.

Michio spluttered as he staggered to his feet, looking pale and shocked. Then his face contorted with anger, snarling and baring his fangs.

“That’s _my_ prey,” he snarled. “I found him first!”

“I believe you’ll find I found him long, long before you did,” the soft voice said, grip tightening on Yuya. “Begone.”

Michio snarled, his face contorting in ways a human face shouldn’t. With a speed and ferocity Yuya knew Michio didn’t have, he launched himself forward.

The arms that held Yuya shifted him gently. One haori clad arm lifted up — and caught Michio right against the forehead. Michio froze in midair, eyes wide, held aloft by some power that none of them could see.

“I said,” the voice said. _“Begone.”_

Michio’s eyes bulged a moment. His irises rolled — for a moment his eyes turned fully black. Then his mouth opened in a silent scream, and a black mist poured out of his mouth. Michio’s body went limp, and the hand that had held him in the air released him. He slid gently to the ground, as though his body were no heavier than a leaf fluttering from a tree.

Yuya hung there, staring down at Michio’s unconscious form, hand still pressed to his bleeding neck. His heart screamed. What...what was...he was so dizzy...

“Yuya,” the voice said. “Yuya. Are you all right? I’m sorry. I thought that simply my being near would scare the little ones off, at least this early in the game. I shouldn’t have looked away.”

Yuya blinked through the haze of fear and pain. The arms that held him shifted him, holding him by the shoulders. Yuya’s vision cleared.

“R...Reiji?”

It couldn’t be anyone else. Reiji, in his haori and kimono, held him gently, eyes sharp as he looked Yuya over. As Yuya watched, Reiji’s gaze dropped to his bloody neck, and his eyes narrowed.

“Look at me,” he said. “Let me see.”

“I...I think I need a hospital,” Yuya mumbled.

“There is no need of that.”

Reiji gently pried Yuya’s bloody hand from his neck. Yuya willed his heart to stop racing, to stop pumping blood out of him even faster. Was he going to die? Was he going to...

His eyes bubbled with tears.

“R-Reiji,” he mumbled. “I’m...I’m scared...”

“I know,” Reiji whispered. “It’s going to be all right. I promise you.”

His voice was so soothing. And...and he said he promised. He’d said before that he always kept his promises...

Reiji pulled him close, and leaned in. For a moment, Yuya didn’t know what was happening, he was too frightened, too dizzy, to process. At least, until he felt Reiji’s lips against his neck. 

For just a moment, he panicked. Was _Reiji_ going to eat him now? Or — or what was he doing?

“W-what are you —”

Reiji held him firmly, but gently, not letting him squirm away. His tongue flicked out over Yuya’s cut, running down the length of it. Yuya felt an inappropriate noise curling in his throat at the feeling of Reiji’s mouth on his neck. He could only hang there, wide eyed and shocked, still barely understanding what had just happened, not to mention _this_.

But when Reiji finally leaned away, tongue flicking over his lips...Yuya frowned. He tentatively pressed his fingers to his neck.

The cut was gone.

Yuya’s eyes widened. He looked up at Reiji, mouth hanging open.

“W-what...how...?”

And his words froze in his throat as he realized the Reiji in front of him wasn’t...quite the Reiji he remembered.

He was still taller than Yuya, still clad in his haori and kimono, still silver haired and violet eyed, still wearing his red glasses. But...but his eyes had gone such a vibrant shade of violet that it was startling, and his pupils - they’d turned to slits. And from his hair...were those... _fox_ ears? Something big swished behind him, and when Yuya dropped his eyes down, he saw a mass of huge gray fox tails — he couldn’t even count how many there were.

He stared back up at Reiji, comprehension dawning over him.

“Reiji,” he said. “You...you’re...”

“A yokai,” Reiji agreed. “Yes. You’ve finally remembered.”

Yuya almost flinched. Michio’s words echoed in his head, the one about his scent drawing other yokai. Why...why would there be yokai trying to kill him? He shot a furtive look down at the unconscious Michio.

“Do not worry yourself,” Reiji said. “He will be all right. He was being possessed by yokai that wasn’t powerful enough to manifest by itself. He’ll wake up and not remember a thing.”

Really? That did relieve Yuya, his shoulders slumping. So it hadn’t been Michio after all. Somehow, that thought reassured him. Michio was just an ordinary kid, after all — an ordinary kid who’d had the misfortune of getting caught up in a yokai’s mischief.

He tensed again, though, as he remembered where he was, and what he’d just learned, and what had just happened. Was...Reiji wasn’t going to...was he? Reiji was a yokai. His childhood friend...his childhood _crush_...he’d been a yokai all this time? Had Yuya known? Could he have forgotten something so important? Was this why Reiji had always known about his sight — not because Yuya had told him, but because he’d been a yokai that only Yuya could see?

Was Reiji going to try to eat him, like the yokai possessing Michio had?

As though he’d heard the thought, Reiji squeezed Yuya’s shoulders briefly, and then released him. He stepped back, putting space between them and tucking his hands into his haori sleeves. Yuya’s heart began to slow as Reiji put distance between them. Guilt suddenly rose up in his chest for being so frightened of Reiji. Hadn’t Reiji just saved him? And he’d had his chance to kill Yuya if he’d wanted to...he could have done it so easily, and he hadn’t. In fact he’d...healed him, somehow.

“You should leave,” Reiji said, after a beat. “The smell of your blood will likely draw others.”

That made Yuya tense up again. So it was true? Other yokai were going to come and...and try to kill him? Why?

“I...I don’t know what’s going on,” Yuya said. His eyes bubbled with a sudden rush of tears.

Reiji inclined his head.

“I know,” he said, and there was such a deep sadness in his voice that it briefly stopped Yuya’s own wash of tears in his surprise. “I understand your wariness of me, in this situation. But please understand that I want nothing more than your safety.”

He bowed a little lower, his sharp gray fox ears tilting forward.

“I’ll explain everything to you. But now, I think, is not a good time. You are due to meet your friend, Hiragi Yuzu, are you not?”

Yuya jumped. 

“Oh, shit, _Yuzu_ ,” he said. “I — she’s probably worried — oh, shit I’m covered in blood —”

Reiji shook his head. He took a step forward, and Yuya restrained the urge to flinch. But Reiji only took his hand, gently, producing a small cloth. He wiped the blood away from Yuya's hand, then gently touched the cloth to the side of Yuya's shirt collar. When Yuya looked down as Reiji stepped away, he found that the stain on his shirt was gone.

“Go,” Reiji said softly. “Go, and rest. I promise you will be safe for the rest of today.”

Yuya looked up at Reiji, still sort of panicking. How could he go see Yuzu like _this_ ? What was he supposed to tell her? Blood or no blood, he was still in absolute crisis mode. His classmate, possessed or not, had just tried to _kill and eat him!_

“But —”

“Rest,” Reiji said, in a voice that allowed for no arguments. “Please, Yuya. I know it will be difficult. But please try to enjoy today.”

The way his brow furrowed, and his eyes clouded, Yuya could almost hear what he didn’t say out loud. _Because today may be the last day you can enjoy for some time._

Then his eyes softened, in that way that was so familiar, even if his eyes were so different in this form.

“You’ve made it through the first day,” he said. “Take time to recover. I will come to you tomorrow.”

“But I can’t just _not_ know what’s happening,” Yuya said, voice cracking. “Please — I don’t —”

“Yuya! There you are!”

Yuya jumped and whirled. At the other end of the field, he could see Yuzu, running towards him and waving one arm in the air. His heart raced. No, Yuzu, don’t come now — 

Reiji leaned over Yuya’s shoulder, his breath tickling Yuya’s ear and making him jump.

“She cannot see me while I am in this form,” he said. “Go. I will tend to your classmate.”

His hand gently touched Yuya’s shoulder, tentative, before ghosting away.

“I promise to tell you everything. But for now, please. _Go_. Enjoy your birthday with your friend.”

Yuya wanted to turn around, to look at Reiji again. But he didn’t want Yuzu to know that Reiji was there — didn’t want to have to explain to her what was happening, when even he didn’t know.

So, against all of his better judgement, he jogged away. He didn’t look back.

“Oh, were you trying to meet with Michio again?” Yuzu asked, huffing as she came to a stop near him. “What did he want, anyway?”

Yuya sucked in a breath — he never lied to Yuzu. He had always told her the truth.

But when she looked at him with those open eyes, that kind face...he couldn’t worry her. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, to tell her that everything had changed — he didn’t just see the yokai, now. One had attacked him. And if its words were any indication, more were coming, and he didn’t even know why.

Yuzu would worry herself to death over him. He couldn’t cloud her eyes like that.

So he forced a smile.

“I dunno,” he said. “He didn’t show.”

* * *

Reiji carefully gathered Mokota Michio into his arms. He would deposit the boy at the nurse’s office, where he could recover. And in the meantime...

He flickered his eyes towards where Yuya was leaving with Hiragi Yuzu. Then his gaze flickered up to the tree.

“Selena.”

The huge black cat nestled in the crook of the tree stared at him with her big green eyes, twin tails flicking back and forth over the edge of the branch. Reiji tilted his head in the direction that Yuya and Yuzu had gone.

“Watch over him until I return,” he said. “Keep other yokai away from him. If anything you can’t handle shows up, contact me immediately. Call in Sora if you must.”

“Can I eat any of them?” Selena asked, her cat’s mouth twisting in strange ways to form the words. “The little yokai, I mean.”

Reiji sighed.

“Only if you really must.”

Selena’s tails curled with pleasure, and she hopped off the branch, trotting leisurely after Yuya and Yuzu. Reiji watched her go, hoping that would be enough. Hopefully, his scent on Yuya should scare off enough of the smaller yokai, along with Selena’s presence. And if those didn’t work, the charm he'd put on Yuya when he’d cleaned the blood away would summon Reiji immediately if he was in danger.

In the meantime...he should care for this unfortunate student who’d gotten mixed up in all of this.

As he stepped away, however, his eyes caught on something glittering in the grass. He frowned, and walked towards it.

Near the roots of the tree, left behind, was a pale blue crystal on a chain, metal wings coiled around it. Wasn’t that...Yuya’s necklace? It must have fallen off when the yokai had attacked with the knife.

Reiji carefully picked it up with one of his tails, hiding it in his fur. He would return it to Yuya tomorrow, when they met again.

When they met again...ah. This was not how he’d wanted their reunion to turn out, on the whole.

He could only hope that he’d done enough. That he’d prepared enough.

That going forward....he’d be able to keep Yuya alive.


	4. The Yokai's Bride

Yuya hardly slept that night. He tossed and turned, slipping in and out of fitful dreams, waking up in cold sweats only to fall straight back into a shadowy dream where creatures with the faces of his classmates stalked him, too long teeth shining in their mouths as they cornered him in the swirling darkness.

Yuzu frowned at him when he met her outside his house for the walk to school.

“You all right?” she said. “You look like total crap.”

“Just didn’t sleep too well,” Yuya said, rubbing his eye and trying to smile. “Must have eaten way too many pancakes.”

Yuzu pursed her lips, eyes narrowing slightly. He was pretty sure she was onto him. It had taken everything he’d had to relax last night. Being home with his mom and Yuzu had definitely helped, and during a few of the musicals, he’d even been able to forget what had happened. But during Little Shop of Horrors, some fake stage blood had nearly sent him into hysterics. He’d had to fake a bathroom emergency in order to hide for a few minutes and get control of himself again.

 _I can’t tell her what happened_ , he thought. _I can’t worry her_.

So he tried smiling again, and swung his bag playfully to bump her arm.

“Last one to school’s a rotten egg,” he said, and darted off.

“What? Are we in middle school or something?” Yuzu called after him, but he heard her running after him anyway.

Yuya shot a glance at Reiji’s house as he bolted past. He needed to talk to him, soon. He’d almost thought about calling off sick today so that he could go and see him, but he’d worried that after how lowkey he’d been yesterday, it would just arouse his mom’s and Yuzu’s suspicions more. And if he went sneaking off to Reiji’s house while his mom was on high alert...well, it would only be a matter of time before she caught onto him and forced him to spill everything. He hadn’t even told her about being able to see yokai. He absolutely couldn’t tell her about this - she’d _freak_.

So, despite the growing unease in his stomach, he’d have to bide his time, and wait. He’d go over first thing after school, pretending to just be really excited about saying hello to the new neighbors.

The running actually helped a lot, even though he and Yuzu were both huffing and puffing by the time they made it to school.

“Geez, Yuya,” Yuzu gasped, leaning her hand on one knee as she paused to catch her breath. “You don’t have to try _that_ hard to prove that you’re full of energy. I believe you.”

“Then my evil plan worked,” Yuya said, laughing between gasps of air. “Hey, at least I didn’t make you late to class for once. You can get in early!”

Yuzu snorted, but she did smile, looking more relaxed. Good. Whatever was going on...he didn’t want her to get involved. It was bad enough that she knew about the yokai.

Yuya looked around the school grounds for any signs of yokai before he followed her inside. Normally, there were a few out, and he was nervous — would one attack him at school, in front of everyone? What would that look like to someone who couldn’t see yokai?

But to his surprise, he didn’t see anything. Nothing except a large black cat resting on the wall by the gate, tail curled up alongside it. He stared at it for a moment, trying to decide if it might be a yokai or not.

“Oh, what a cute cat,” Yuzu said, following his gaze. “Hey there little guy!”

She brightened, leaning towards it and making little kissy sounds. It cracked open a single big green eye, staring unimpressed at Yuzu’s fingers rubbing together to coax it near. Yuya relaxed. Just a regular cat, then.

The cat yawned, and closed its eye again, not paying any attention to Yuzu’s kissy sounds. She looked disappointed, but the sound of the first bell made her give up.

“What was that about us not being late?” she said, bumping him with her hip and a grin.

“Better start running again,” he said, grinning.

He followed her inside, eyes peeled for any sign of yokai. But yet again...nothing. It was almost eerie, almost worse than the day before his birthday, when he’d seen hundreds of them crammed into the school. Where had they all gone? Or had he suddenly lost his ability to see them?? That wouldn’t have bothered him so much if he wasn’t still convinced that he might get attacked again. Not being able to see it coming...that scared him.

But no matter how hard he looked, he didn’t see hide nor hair of a yokai, not so much as a walking cup hidden between the legs of students flooding towards their classrooms. Suspicion settled into his bones as he slid into his seat behind Yuzu, biting his lip. Something was definitely up. Something had changed yesterday, and he _needed_ to know what.

“All right, everyone, settle in,” Fudo-sensei called. “Class rep, please get us started.”

“Stand! Bow!”

Yuya stood jerkily, bowed stiffly, and flopped back into his chair. He continued to flick his eyes around the classroom, looking for any sign of yokai. He started to wonder about Michio. Was he actually okay? Maybe he shouldn’t have left him there with Reiji...after all, Reiji was....Reiji was a yokai. His stomach turned uncertainly at the thought. But...but Reiji had saved him, too. So were the yokai trying to hurt him, or not? Ugh! It was too much to think about!

“Before we get started, everyone, I have an announcement to make,” Fudo-sensei said, tapping his papers on his desk and setting them aside. “I know it’s a bit of a strange time of year for this, but we actually have a transfer student.”

Immediately, the whole class sat up straighter, a clear interest sparking through the room. Yuya, however, tensed. The last thing he needed right now was a surprise...

“You can come in, now,” Fudo-sensei called, turning to the chalkboard to write the student’s name.

The classroom door slid open. If the class weren’t sitting up straight before, they certainly were now — and Yuya’s mouth dropped open.

Reiji walked into the room — no, it was more like he glided, moving so elegantly it was as though he didn’t quite touch the ground. The school uniform looked odd on him; Yuya was so used to seeing him in a kimono. And yet, it fit him well. He turned to face the class beside where Fudo-sensei had written his name on the chalkboard.

Yuya could barely breathe. His ears rang, and he barely heard Fudo-sensei introducing the new student. The only thing that brought him back to himself was Reiji’s voice, the same calm tones as ever, proving to him that he wasn’t imagining this scenario.

“I am Akaba Reiji,” he said, his voice soft and yet carrying easily. “I lived here many years ago, but had to move way for my family’s business. I’m glad to be back.”

Two girls in front of Yuzu were already leaning across to each other, whispering something that was likely a comment on how attractive Reiji was. One boy sighed, slumping forward in his seat — obviously, he’d been hoping the new student would be a girl.

“Akaba-san, you can sit...ah, back there,” Fudo-sensei said. “There’s a spot open near the window.”

Yuya wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not by the fact that there were already people sitting on both sides of him. But he watched as Reiji walked back to the same row as Yuya, sliding into the seat at the far back corner near the window. He was only two seats away from Yuya.

Reiji did not lift his eyes to meet Yuya’s gaze, or let Yuya know in any way that he knew he was there. A brief spurt of frustration overtook him. What was he _doing_? What was he doing here?? And if he was here for Yuya, then why wouldn’t he even look at him?

Yuya didn’t process a single word of class that day. He kept shooting Reiji looks, hidden behind his book from Fudo-sensei. But Reiji didn’t look back, or if he did, it was never when Yuya was looking at him. In fact, he seemed quite interested in doing his schoolwork, paying rapt attention to Fudo-sensei, even taking notes. He even answered a few questions during class.

It was so _weird_ that Yuya felt like he was in another dimension. Even before he’d know Reiji was a yokai, he remembered him as...as well, an anachronism. Someone that didn’t quite belong to this time and place, who blended in more with remnants of another time than he did with the modern world, who lived in a separate world from Yuya. Watching him blend into this one felt...strange.

He _had_ to talk to him. He had to find out what was going on. It was burning him up inside, seeing him so close, and yet too far away to give him answers.

When Fudo-sensei finally wrapped up for lunch, it took everything Yuya had not to spring out of his chair like a cannon ball to shoot at Reiji. Luckily for his attempts to avoid arousing Yuzu’s suspicions, a group of girls got to Reiji first.

His table was immediately surrounded by a small cluster of girls, all of them asking questions at once, their words tumbling over each other like water over pebbles in a stream. Yuya could barely hear the soft, polite answers Reiji gave in return. 

“Yuya? Did you forget your lunch again?”

Yuya jumped, startled by Yuzu’s voice, and the sound of her desk as she turned it to push it against Yuya’s.

“H-huh?” Yuya said, eyes flickering away from Reiji’s desk.

Yuzu looked him up and down for a minute, lips pursed. Then she raised her eyebrows, a smirk twitching at the ends of her lips.

“Oh?” she said in a sing-song voice. “Did someone fall in love at first sight with the mysterious transfer student?”

“I did _not,_ ” Yuya protested, flushing.

“Oh, come on, I can’t blame you,” she said, sliding into her seat. “He’s cute. Your type, too. Plus, it’s super romantic, isn’t it, the whole concept of a surprise transfer student?”

“Cut it out,” Yuya groaned, pressing his head to his desk. Normally, he wouldn’t mind Yuzu’s teasing — he’d be sure to tease her back, even. But right now, everything was way too mixed up.

“Oh, don’t be shy,” she said, ruffling his hair. “You should go get yourself in there, introduce yourself!”

“You suck,” he said, and she laughed.

He turned his head up on the desk, though, glancing over towards Reiji. He sat up, surprised, as he realized that Reiji had just extracted himself from the group.

“Excuse me for a moment,” he said. “I must make use of the restroom.”

And at that moment, his eyes lifted up, and met Yuya’s for the first time that day. Instantly, Yuya knew — Reiji was asking him to go and meet him. He stood almost too quickly.

“What’s up?” Yuzu asked, looking up with her chopsticks in her mouth as she unwrapped her bento.

“Bathroom,” he said. “Sorry. Be back.”

“Wow, must be an emergency. Go for it.”

He waved a hand at her and hurried to the door.

Reiji had already made his way out into the hallway, and as he turned, he saw a flicker of Reiji’s hair disappearing around the corner. Yuya scurried after him — and nearly smacked into someone coming around the other direction.

“Oh, careful there! Watch your step.”

A hand snagged his elbow, righting him before he fell over. He smiled gratefully, turning towards them — and for just a second, he almost screamed.

Michio smiled pleasantly, but clearly confused, at him.

“Sakaki-san? You all right?” he said.

Yuya’s panic subsided. That was Michio’s voice. His real voice. He looked...right. Yuya couldn’t tell exactly what it was that relieved him, but he could somehow tell that he was Michio, the real one, this time. He was actually okay. Reiji had told the truth.

“Sorry,” he said. “Bathroom.”

“Oh! Don’t let me keep you,” Michio said, laughing as he held up a hand.

Yuya smiled thankfully, and hurried past him, following where he’d seen Reiji disappear around the corner.

Reiji stood in the landing at the end of the stairs, leaning against the wall under the window. His eyes were already lifted to Yuya’s, meeting his gaze the moment he was in view.

For a moment, Yuya hesitated. Out here in the halls, it was just the two of them...sure there were a few students, like Michio, who were going off to other classrooms to visit their friends for lunch break. They weren’t totally alone. But it felt...secluded, to meet him on the stairwell like this. Was it safe?

He swallowed. Reiji had saved him. If he’d wanted to hurt him, he’d had the chance.

And Yuya wanted answers.

He descended the stairs, meeting Reiji at the bottom. For a moment, they only looked at each other, as though waiting for the other to speak. Yuya broke first.

“So?” he blurted. “What are you doing in my classroom? And what happened yesterday? What’s going on? And where are all the yokai? And —”

A faint smile twitched at Reiji’s lips, and that small expression drained the tension from between them. Reiji seemed to relax. He fixed his glasses with one finger, and leaned back against the wall.

“I can only answer one question at a time, you know,” he said.

Yuya puffed out his cheeks. But Reiji was right. What was the most important question to ask, even?

The words slipped out of him before he could think about it.

“Where have you been?” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Where did you go? And why are you back?”

Reiji looked down at the floor, pensive. After a beat, he beckoned Yuya closer. Yuya hesitated, then closed the distance, turning to stand against the wall next to him.

“I had...things I needed to attend to,” he said. “They took longer than expected. I planned to be back long before your seventeenth birthday.”

“Things...that had to do with me?” Yuya asked.

Reiji’s jaw tightened. Then he nodded. Yuya had a feeling he wasn’t going to get a straight answer on this one, so he changed tactics.

“Okay, then, what are you doing here, in my classroom?” Yuya said. “Are you even — you’re older than me, right? Are you even high school age?”

That brought a smile to Reiji’s lips.

“I am older than you, yes,” he said. “By a yokai’s reckoning of time, however, it is not by much. I don’t know that I understand a human’s concept of age enough to tell you exactly how old I would be in your years.”

Yuya frowned, not entirely sure how to interpret that. But then, if he wasn’t human, it would make sense that his concept of time and age would be different than Yuya’s. Reiji inhaled before he spoke next.

“But I am here,” he said, “to protect you.”

Yuya bit his lip. His stomach twisted.

“From...from what?” he whispered.

Reiji looked down at the floor. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

“You have been born to an unfortunate birthright,” he said. “You are what we yokai would refer to as...the yokai’s bride.”

Yuya blinked. He shoot Reiji a look, brow furrowing.

“‘Bride’?” he repeated. “I’m a guy, you know.”

Reiji chuckled.

“Indeed,” he said. “I remember you were very quick to assure me of that fact the first time we met.”

That brought a little blush to Yuya’s cheeks. That’s right. He would have just come out as a boy around the time he remembered first meeting Reiji. His mom loved to tease him about how loud he’d been about it, and how quick he’d been to announce it to any new person he met, even strangers. He’d probably done the same to Reiji during their first meeting. Reiji cleared his throat, fixing his glasses before continuing.

“It’s a poor translation from our language. ‘Groom’, perhaps, would be more appropriate to you in particular. But you have not been the only one, and so the term ‘bride’ has stuck over the years.”

He glanced at Yuya out of the corner of his eye, holding his gaze despite not looking directly at him.

“Every hundred generations, a human is born with the power of sight,” he said. “They are unique, for they are born to families with no history of psychic powers, no exorcist bloodline. That child is known as the yokai’s bride.”

His lips tightened, and he looked forward again. Yuya continued to watch him, though, transfixed by the sight of his face in profile. This close, it was surprising how human he looked — and yet, something about him...seemed as though it layered against the world differently. Made him look slightly off center, somehow.

“The yokai’s bride is a powerful soul,” Reiji continued. “They can see the yokai, and they attract them. But more importantly...”

His jaw tightened, and Yuya’s heart clenched, as though he could sense what would come next.

“The bride promises power to yokai,” Reiji said. “To the yokai that consumes the bride and drinks their blood...they will gain eternal life, and power beyond imagining.”

The horrible memory of Michio’s not-right voice, his too long teeth, the feeling of his own blood against his fingers, assaulted Yuya. He had to press a hand to his mouth against the sudden wash of nausea.

“And...and that’s me?” he whispered. “I’m that...that bride?”

He felt sick.

“But — but if that’s true, why have the yokai never tried to eat me before?” he demanded.

“Because you weren’t...” Reiji said, and then he looked a bit uncomfortable, “well, for lack of a better word, you weren’t...ripe.”

Yuya stared at him, and Reiji coughed into his hand, clearly just as perturbed by the use of the word as Yuya was.

“Your power peaks at the age of seventeen,” he said. “Before that time, eating you would provide no particular benefit compared to eating any other human. But on your seventeenth birthday, your scent becomes overpowering. It attracts yokai from across the land.”

Yuya sucked in a breath. Then that meant...now...

“They’re going to keep trying to eat me?” he said, voice cracking. “For...for what? For the rest of my life?”

Reiji shook his head quickly.

“No,” he said. “There is a time limit. On your eighteenth birthday, your power expires. You can live a normal life after that.”

Yuya’s heart slowed, but only a bit. A _year_ ? He had to live a year of...of yokai trying to _murder_ him?

“Yuya,” Reiji said, his calm voice bringing Yuya back to himself, slowing his breaths. “I told you, didn’t I?”

He turned to face Yuya, now, eyes holding his.

“I am here to protect you,” he said. “I will not allow you to come to harm.”

Yuya stared up into Reiji’s eyes, lips parted. There was...truth in his eyes. There was conviction. There was a tremor of promise in his voice, and Yuya was reminded again of what he’d said: that he always kept his promises. 

And that reminded him of a different promise they had made.

A faint blush rose to his cheeks, he swallowed before asking his next question.

“If I’m something the yokai want to eat,” he said, “then why am I called a _bride_?”

Was it his imagination, or did a faint blush dust over Reiji’s cheeks? At any rate, Reiji looked away from him, fixing his glasses again.

“The yokai’s bride can offer power in other ways,” he said. “While to less powerful yokai, your blood is a fast track to evolution, those who are already quite powerful seek something else. To higher-ranked yokai, the bride is a potential source of power and prosperity to their clan as a whole...through, well, marriage. The heads of the clans will begin to compete to claim your hand.”

Yuya opened his mouth, but the next question wouldn’t leave him. Heat burned over his cheeks, and he looked at the ground. He thought about it again — the promise they’d made. Reiji had asked Yuya to marry him. Had he known, back then, what Yuya was? Was Reiji the head of a clan? Yuya couldn’t remember. He couldn’t even remember if he’d ever known if Reiji was a yokai. Had the promise they made...had Reiji been simply trying to be the first to claim him, then? Was that why he was here now? For some reason, the thought that Yuya might be nothing more than a useful pawn to Reiji...it made his stomach twist. It made him...upset.

But he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He could figure out how to say it, without sounding accusing. _So what do I mean to you?_ It was a question that was impossible to let out. He shook his head.

“So, basically, you mean...” he said. “For the next year, I’m going to be hunted for food, _and_ targeted for marriage proposals?”

“At the most basic retelling of events, yes,” Reiji said. “That is indeed what is going to happen.”

Yuya couldn’t lift his eyes to meet Reiji’s. He could only stare at the floor, mind spinning. There was only so much information someone could take at once, and he was pretty sure he was nearing capacity. So yesterday had just been the start of it, had it?

“S-so how does it end?” he said. “This whole...thing, I mean.”

“There are several options,” Reiji said. “If you are eaten, clearly, the game is over. If you agree to a marriage proposal, and perform a ceremony with your chosen spouse, your power binds to your chosen clan, and thus eating you once again provides no further benefit - not to mention, targeting you draws the attention of an entire powerful clan on the would-be attacker's head."

He fixed his glasses, and inhaled.

"Or...you make it to your eighteenth birthday.”

Yuya lifted his eyes back to Reiji, but Reiji’s gaze seemed far away.

“When you turn eighteen, your power leaves you,” Reiji said. “You lose your scent, the power that the yokai can gain from you, and...your sight. You will no longer see the yokai.”

Yuya’s lips parted. He’d...lose his sight?

He would have thought the idea would cheer him — he’d been stressed out by yokai for as long as he could remember. But somehow...looking up at Reiji...

The thought made him...sort of melancholy.

Yuya swallowed, eyes still holding Reiji’s, willing him to return to himself to meet Yuya’s eyes head on. He...he head had to know. Was Reiji only here because...because of the power that Yuya promised to him, and his clan? Was that the only reason they’d ever been friends? Had Yuya been the only one to remember their friendship with fondness — to even remember their silly, childhood promise with some happiness?

He swallowed. He cleared his throat.

“I...the promise we made,” he said. “When we were kids.”

Reiji’s eyes softened. Yuya thought he saw his hands twitch, as though he were about to reach for Yuya and then had decided against it. Yuya swallowed and tried again.

“Did you know? Back then?” he said. “Is that why you...asked?”

This time, Reiji did not break Yuya’s gaze.

“I knew,” he said softly. “It was the initial reason my family moved us to that house. To be near you.”

Yuya’s stomach twisted, and he felt like throwing up. It was true, then. Reiji was here, to protect him...but only because of what he was. Then Reiji’s face softened with a small smile.

“I shouldn’t have asked you, back then,” he said. “It was the impulse of a child. I was afraid, then, that without such a promise, perhaps you would forget me.”

Yuya hesitated, lips parting. His eyes darted up to Reiji.

“I do not expect to hold you to a promise made when we were both children,” Reiji said. “When you did not know what you wanted. I apologize for holding such a promise over you all these years.”

“No, that’s...that’s not really what I meant,” Yuya said, though suddenly, he wasn’t sure what he meant. “If you’re not here to, uh, get to me first, then...why _are_ you here? Why go to all this trouble?”

Reiji’s whole face softened. There was something in his eyes that Yuya could not interpret. And this time, he did reach for Yuya, slowly, gently, his fingers only ghosting over Yuya’s shoulder, briefly hovering near his face before drifting away.

“Because I consider you dear to me,” he said. “And the only thing I want is for you to have the chance to choose your future for yourself.”

A burst of warmth exploded in Yuya’s chest, and he felt it leak up into his cheeks. He looked away, quickly, not sure he had the mental fortitude to face those eyes head on after saying something like that so easily.

Was...was that the truth? Somehow, Yuya felt like it was. It felt right. And...well, he didn’t remember Reiji being the type to lie about things like this. Could it be, that all these years he was wondering what had happened to Reiji, wondering if he would come back...had Reiji been thinking of him, too?

The bell warning for the end of lunch break sounded, startling Yuya from his thoughts. His eyes broke from Reiji’s gaze as he looked up the stairs.

“So — what now?” he asked quickly. “What happens now?”

“We keep you alive,” Reiji said, and this time, his hand touched Yuya’s shoulder — just the barest, softest touch, that made warmth spread from the contact. “On my life, Yuya...I promise that I will keep you safe.”

Yuya’s cheeks burst with warmth. He — he didn’t know what to say to that. Ducking his head, he mumbled something incoherent even to him, and darted back up the stairs towards class.

He could feel Reiji’s eyes on him, even as he rounded the corner. And the warmth in his chest didn’t fade for what felt like a very long time.

* * *

_Thirty minutes earlier_

Yuzu stared at Yuya’s back as he darted out of the classroom, and her smile faded slowly. She put her chopsticks down on top of her bento.

Yuya wasn’t okay.

She’d noticed it the minute they’d met up yesterday. His smile had been forced. He always thought he could hide it from her, but she knew him too well. Because it was his birthday, she hadn’t pressed, then — she’d just wanted to help distract him from whatever had upset him.

But something was clearly still really, really wrong.

And part of her wondered if it had something to do with that new transfer student.

So, when Yuya left the room just moments after Akaba Reiji did, she counted a few seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty. Unhurried, she stood up, and made her way to the door. She slid it open, peeking out. Students darting into other classrooms, chatter echoing from nearby rooms as friends from other classes met up. When she glanced down the other way, she Michio, coming her way. Hadn’t Yuya been trying to meet with him, earlier?

“Hey, Mitchie,” Yuzu said, waving as he drew close. “Where are you headed?”

“Oh, Yuzu,” Michio said, smiling. “Good to see you! I was just going to meet with Teppei for lunch. I had a new fish recipe I wanted him to try.”

He held up his wrapped bento, and Yuzu smiled. Just like the president of the cooking club.

“That’s cool!” she said. “Oh, hey, did you happen to see Yuya?”

“Sakaki? Oh, yeah, he just ran off that way,” Michio said, pointing over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” she said. “By the way, did you ever manage to meet up with him? He said he couldn’t find you yesterday.”

Michio frowned.

“Yesterday? What do you mean?”

Yuzu’s senses shot into overdrive.

“Yuya said you’d asked him to help you with something the other day, but he couldn’t make it cause of his career counseling session,” he said. “So he tried to meet you again yesterday?”

Michio just frowned deeper, his brow furrowing.

“No, I...I don’t remember anything like that. I can’t think of what I might have needed his help with.”

Yuzu’s eyes flickered to the end of the hall, where Michio had said Yuya had gone.

“Huh,” she said, keeping her tone as light as she could despite the creeping dread in her stomach. “Weird. I must have misheard him when he said who he was talking to. Anyway, I won’t keep you. Have a good lunch.”

Michio nodded in response, waving as he headed off. In the meantime, Yuzu headed towards Yuya.

She stopped when she heard voices in the stairwell, hovering at the corner. It echoed just a little bit, but they were talking softly — all she could make out was Yuya’s voice, but not what he was saying. Getting closer would mean being spotted.

She tried peeking around the corner at the very least.

Somehow, she’d expected what she saw: Yuya meeting with the transfer student, Akaba Reiji. The pair of them stood next to each other, leaning against the wall and not really looking at each other while they spoke. Yuya looked...nervous. Concerned. Even worried. Akaba had a passive, neutral expression, though she saw his brows come together once or twice.

She leaned back out of sight, standing with her back to the wall.

So. Yuya was lying to her.

The thought didn’t really upset her. Yuya skipped over the truth with her sometimes, usually about the yokai. He seemed to think she’d be worried if she knew just what he dealt with on a daily basis. But it was _more_ worrying to _not_ know.

Eavesdropping was bad but...well, Yuya should have trusted her more, she thought, clenching her fists. She strained her ears to listen.

_“....yokai...”_

_“....bride?....eat....”_

_“Promise....”_

She couldn’t get more than a handful of tantalizing words, but it was enough to make her stomach tighten. She was _right_. It was about the yokai. Was he telling Akaba about his power? But why him? He’d just shown up...did he trust him that much already? But how? They’d only just met — 

Her lips parted. The moving trucks. Yuya’s childhood friend. It was hard to remember, — the mysterious boy from the house on the other side of Yuya’s. Yuya had told her about him, but...for some reason, Yuzu herself couldn’t remember meeting him. As though he belonged to some other world that Yuzu couldn’t enter. But if she strained her memory, she could almost recall seeing him, remembered heaving herself over the wall to look into the garden just once. What had he looked like?

She chanced a peek around the corner again, getting a better look at him. Silver hair. Violet eyes. Fair skin.

As she leaned back around the wall, her heart thudding in her chest, she was sure there could be no question about it.

That was the boy from next door. The one Yuya had promised to marry as children, the one he’d never really ever stopped thinking about, despite his protests to the contrary to Yuzu.

But what was he doing back? And why did he know about the yokai?

And why wasn’t Yuya telling her anything?

She retreated to the classroom. She wasn’t likely to hear anything more useful — all she knew for sure...

Yuya was in trouble. She could feel it in her bones. She twisted her bracelet around her wrist, setting her jaw. Well, whether Yuya wanted her to know or not...she wasn’t about to let him deal with whatever was happening alone.


	5. More Questions Than Answers

It wasn’t like Yuzu had a real plan. How could she do anything about something she couldn’t even see, when Yuya wouldn’t tell her anything? Obviously, the first step was to do some research. Poking around on the Internet, however, yielded her very few leads, and she ended up on the Yokai Watch wiki more than she did on anything of note. She definitely didn’t find a thing about how one might be able to learn how to see the yokai, or much about how to defend yourself from them. It was just all old folktales and pop culture references.

So, after giving it some thought, she decided to visit a shrine.

Maiami City had a shrine in the middle of town, where people tended to go for New Year’s and festivals. But there was an older one a bit more out of the way, less visited. She decided to hit that one first — if there was going to be anyone in the city who might know something about yokai, they’d probably be there.

It took two bus switches and a walk of several blocks for Yuzu to get there, staring at the map on her phone to guide her. But when she found the stone stairs cut into the hill, framed by the distinctive red arch and leading up, up, up onto the forested hill, she knew she’d found the right place.

She hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, staring up. What a long way...and the trees were so thick that it was shadowy, almost dark. She touched her bracelet automatically, twisting it around her wrist in her usual nervous motion.

“Come on, Yuzu,” she whispered to herself. “The worst that can happen is that the priest laughs at you when you ask him.”

That’s right. To her, that was the worst that could happen. Yuya had always told her that as long as people couldn’t see the yokai, they couldn’t be harmed by them. He’d told her that he’d seen numerous yokai around her, and she’d never noticed a single one, or been bothered by any of them. 

Still, as she climbed the stairs, a strange hush fell over her, the trees rustling almost silently as their shadows wavered over the path. She felt a prickling on the back of her neck, but whether that was nerves or intuition, she had no idea. She was probably just psyching herself out.

It really _did_ feel like she was stepping into a totally new world, however, when she made it up the last few steps. Even as she tried to catch her breath, she was momentarily caught in place by the site of it — it looked like the world hadn’t changed here for hundreds of years. A perfect, light covering of leaves dappled the stone walk up to the shrine, as though frozen, undisturbed. The shrine was smaller than the main one in town, but it looked new, despite how old she knew it was. It was perfectly maintained, the small building staring back at her as though it were a living thing.

She shivered, hugging herself and looking away. There had to be a priest or something here, right? A shrine maiden, who took care of the place? Someone she could talk to? Beside her, a chozuya sat near the walk, the ladle resting atop the basin of water. The water looked clean and fresh, as though it had just been poured in. She glanced around, and then, after a beat, stepped towards it. She washed her hands, took a small sip from the ladle, and then cleaned the ladle, like her father had taught her to do before visiting the shrine on New Year’s Day as a child. Best not to take chances, she thought, setting the ladle back down.

Properly purified, she set off down the walk. Another small building sat off to the side of the walk; the office, maybe? The board for hanging prayer plaques sat in front of that building, and to her relief, there were some hanging there. So people did visit here. Should she try the office and see if anyone was in?

A foot scratched against the stone behind her, and Yuzu almost screamed.

“What are you doing hanging around out here? The meeting’s inside, you know. Are you new?”

Yuzu whipped around, eyes wide. The person who spoke to her paused, her eyes widening as well. It took Yuzu half a moment to recognize her, though it took Kotsu Masumi a half a second less to recognize Yuzu.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Masumi said, fists rolling up at her sides, back straightening.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Yuzu shot back, her brief panic slowing and being replaced instead with annoyance.

Masumi glowered at her, and Yuzu glowered right back. She hadn’t run into Masumi in several months, and it was only just now that she was realizing just how relaxing that had been. She couldn’t have told anyone where exactly their rivalry had started, but it had been long-lived, starting sometime in the first year they’d had classes together in middle school. Yuzu didn’t remember when Masumi had first challenged her to something, and when she’d first accepted, but their competition had escalated over the years, as the two of them started turning sports festivals into personal competitions, culture festivals into exercises in one-up-manship. This had been the first year they hadn’t been in the same class, and Yuzu had been relishing the quiet.

Masumi folded her arms, huffing.

“I’m _supposed_ to be here,” Masumi said. “You aren’t.”

“It’s a public shrine,” Yuzu said, throwing her hands into the air. “What are you going to do, kick me out? Is it your shrine, or something?”

“Actually, it _is_ ,” Masumi said, with the smirk of someone who just got the upper hand. “This shrine has been maintained by my family for generations.”

“It...has?” Yuzu said, hesitating. 

It was only now that she had processed Masumi’s appearance, and her own annoyance at being scared by it that she...suddenly realized that Masumi was dressed in red hakama and a white hosode — a miko’s uniform.

“You’re a _shrine maiden?_ ” Yuzu said, eyes widening.

“What?” Masumi said. “You have a problem with that?”

“I don’t have a problem with anything you do, Masumi-san,” she said, though privately, she thought Masumi was too rude to be a miko. “You’re the one who seems to have a problem with me, for some reason.”

Masumi scowled at her again. Internally, Yuzu groaned. Of _course_. Of course she’d come all the way out here looking for answers, only to find that Masumi was the one she’d have to talk to for them. Not that Masumi would know anything about yokai — she’d probably laugh in Yuzu’s face if Yuzu talked about them like they were real. This had all been a waste of her time.

“Well, I just so happen to know that we’re _not_ public today,” she said. “There’s something private going on.”

“Well, it’s not like there’s a sign or anything,” Yuzu said. “How was I supposed to know?”

Masumi opened her mouth, likely to retort, when another soft footfall in the leaves caught both of their attentions, followed by a faint chuckle.

“For all the commotion, I’d almost think there was a problem,” said a voice, and Yuzu turned back towards the stairs.

A tall, sallow-skinned man with a sharp face smiled blandly at the pair of them as he reached the top of the stairs. There was something...off putting about him, Yuzu thought immediately. Something in the way he smiled, in the way it didn’t reach his narrow eyes. He was clearly foreign, European, maybe, blond and speaking Japanese with a faint accent that could have been anything from American to German.

“Oh,” Masumi said, sounding as guarded as Yuzu felt. “Roget-san. I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Good to see you again, Kotsu,” the man said with a faint smile that still didn’t reach his eyes. “And this is...?”

His eyes wandered over to Yuzu, and Yuzu fought the urge to recoil instinctively. _Something_ about him upset her, though she couldn’t put her finger on what.

“No one,” Masumi said. “Just a classmate. She just wandered into see the shrine. I was sending her away.”

“I see,” Roget said, eyes still fixed on Yuzu. She fidgeted uncomfortably, wishing that she’d never come here today. “Well, then. I shall be on my way inside. And perhaps you should be on your way, as well, young lady.”

“You heard him, you’ve got to leave, Hiiragi,” Masumi said, nudging her away with one hand.

Yuzu shot her a glare. But Roget’s eyes flashed suddenly with a faint recognition.

“Hiiragi?” he said, turning back to face her. “Your name is Hiiragi?”

“I...” Yuzu said, shooting Masumi a quick look before looking back at him. “Do...we know each other somehow?”

She forced herself to hold her ground as he approached them, coming to stop in front of them. His eyes were frighteningly intense, as though they were seeing directly inside her soul. She didn’t let her gaze drop, though, not willing to let him intimidate her.

“Hiiragi,” Roget said again, as though jogging his memory. “Ah...you do look something like him, don’t you? Your father wouldn’t be one Hiiragi Shuzo, would he?”

Yuzu’s eyes widened.

“You — how do you know my dad?” she said.

Masumi shot her a confused look, glancing between her and Roget. Clearly, she was as startled and uncertain about Roget’s knowledge as Yuzu was.

“The Hiiragi family used to be quite...involved here,” Roget said, smiling slowly. “They were among one of the most prominent families in this area.”

Masumi’s eyes widened, staring only at Yuzu now. But Yuzu was as confused as she’d been before.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.”

His smile deepened.

“Ah,” he said. “Understandable. He likely hasn’t told you anything — I do seem to recall your father leaving the family quite young. He had no gift, you see.”

He tilted his head at her, eyes suddenly very cold and calculating, though his smile remained.

“I wonder if it passed to you, instead.”

Yuzu wanted to bolt. She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like the way he was looking at her, and her head was spinning. She wanted to know why Masumi was staring at her open-mouthed, as though she’d suddenly realized something that Yuzu herself didn’t understand.

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yuzu said.

“My apologies,” Roget said. “I’m talking around the question, aren’t I? I’m speaking of exorcism, Hiiragi-san.”

He smiled at her with that cool calculating gaze. Her mouth dropped open, staring back at him. ...exorcism?

“You’re...messing with me,” she said. “Exorcism isn’t real.”

“It is very real, though it is a gift given to very few,” Roget said. “Interesting. You have no idea...and yet you’ve arrived to this place, on this day...perhaps it was fate that you were to be here?”

Yuzu glanced at Masumi, who was still looking as shell-shocked as Yuzu felt.

She swallowed, and took a step back.

“No,” she said quietly. “I think it was just a coincidence.”

She bowed, no more than a bob of her head to both of them, and turned towards the stairs, walking as quickly as she could. She hadn’t actually excused herself, she realized, but she needed to get out of there. She had to leave.

She was running down the stairs as soon as she was out of sight, running down the street, still running as she passed her first bus stop and kept going.

 _Exorcism?_ she thought, heart hammering in her chest. _Dad...what haven’t you told me?_

* * *

It made sense, now, Yuya thought, as he stood at the end of the walk up to Reiji’s house, why this house looked so out of place. For beings that lived so long, humans must seem to move too fast for them. Old, traditional things were familiar and comforting in a sea of modern that changed so quickly, a memory of days, perhaps, when there were fewer cities, more space for yokai to roam.

Yuya shifted from foot to foot, clutching the container of casserole that his mom had insisted he bring over if he was going to greet the new neighbors. He was just glad she had gotten busy and couldn’t come with him — he wasn’t sure he could handle his mom getting involved in all of this just yet. 

Half of him considered turning around and going back home, telling her that no one had been home. Everything he and Reiji had talked about still clattered around in his head. He could still hardly wrap his head around all of it.

The soft pat pat of feet caught his attention, and he looked up. On the low wall along the road that surrounded the house sat a large black cat, probably having jumped down from a nearby tree. It stared at him with big green eyes, and it looked kind of familiar. Had he seen it around somewhere before...

His thoughts trailed off as his eyes were drawn to the soft swishing movement of the cat’s tails — tails. Plural. It had two tails.

Yuya jolted back. A yokai! Was it going to attack him?

The cat yawned. It leaped off the wall, briefly disappearing. A moment later, someone stood up from behind the wall, leaning her elbows against it and resting her head on her hand.

“Are you going to go in?” she asked, green eyes still as bright as a cat’s. “It’d be great if you did. I’ve been getting bored having to babysit you all day.”

Yuya’s jaw dropped, and he took a big step back, nearly dropping his plate of casserole. There was little doubt that this girl was the yokai cat he’d seen just a moment ago. Her hair was the same dark blue-black, held in a ponytail with a bright yellow ribbon, and her pupils were still thin slits, inhuman and strange.

Yuya tensed, the memory of Michio flashing over his mind. Was she going to attack him? Had she been following him?

“Selena. You’re worrying him.”

The voice came from a figure that definitely hadn’t been there a second ago. Yuya yelped, once again nearly dropping his container. The figure turned towards him, silent and eerie. They were clad in a long, dark blue kimono and haori, a large wide hat on their head that was lined with a veil covering their face. There was little doubt that they, too, were a yokai. The yokai cat girl snorted.

“Look who’s scaring him now, looking like a damn ghost,” she said, pushing off from the wall. “Look, kid. If you want to see Reiji, go on in.”

Yuya hesitated again, staring at the two of them.

“Are you...here with Reiji?” he asked.

The person in the veil bowed.

“We are retainers of his household,” they said. “He has been expecting you, Sakaki Yuya-dono. Please, come in.”

The cat girl folded her arms, nodding her head towards the door. Yuya eyed them a moment longer. Then, reluctantly, he followed the veiled yokai up the walk and to the door. A second veiled yokai, this one wearing a dark red kimono, waited by the door. They bowed, and slid the door open for Yuya.

“Sakaki Yuya has arrived, Reiji-dono,” the blue-robed yokai called as he walked in ahead of Yuya. Yuya glanced nervously back at the red-robed yokai, who fell into step behind Yuya, essentially boxing him in.

Once they were inside the foyer with the doors closed behind them, though, both seemed to relax. The blue-robed yokai reached up and removed his hat and veil, revealing an elegant face and dark blue hair in a ponytail — as well as a pair of fox’s ears sticking out of his head.

His face was noticeably less human than Reiji’s, even when Reiji was in his half yokai form. The yokai’s face was long, a little too long, fox-like in proportions, and his eyes were a bright, too pure blue. And now that Yuya knew what he was looking, he realized that the faint bulge at the back of the yokai’s kimono must be hiding at least one fox’s tail. The red-robed yokai removed his hat and veil as well, revealing a nearly identical face, save for his reddish brown hair and bright brown eyes. Were they twins?

Yuya relaxed when Reiji appeared from a nearby door. He was once again clad in his gray kimono, looking far more at home in it than he had in the school uniform.

“Thank you, Tsukikage, Hikage,” he said. “And Selena?”

“Likely wandered off, now that Sakaki Yuya is safely within the house,” the blue-robed yokai said.

“Oy, I’m right here,” called the yokai cat from the doorway.

Reiji let out a very faint sigh.

“Thank you,” he said, and turned to Yuya, his face softening. “And thank you, Yuya, for coming to visit. I had worried you might decide to keep your distance, after all that has happened.”

“I mean, I did say I’d come visit you to catch up,” Yuya said, ducking his head. “Oh, uh — my mom made me bring this. You don’t have to eat it.”

He thrust the container of casserole towards Reiji, who blinked. Then a faint smile ghosted over his lips, and he nodded, accepting it. He handed it off to the red-robed yokai and the yokai bowed his head, disappearing through another door.

“Thank her for me,” she said. “Come, we can sit in the next room.”

Yuya followed him down the hall. It looked exactly as he thought it would inside — tatami mats in the side rooms, sliding paper doors, bare wooden hallways. Reiji led them to a small room open to the porch and garden out back, chimes hanging from the entrance and jingling softly in the breeze. A low table with cushions around it sat in the middle. 

Reiji waited for Yuya to sit down before he settled onto a cushion across from him. He tucked his hands into his sleeves. After a beat, as though he were letting out a breath, he sighed and from his hair sprouted his sharp gray ears, his large mass of tails unfolding behind him. Yuya watched with fascination. He didn’t notice Reiji’s body shifting so much as it just seemed to let go of its disguise, like a breeze had flicked it away.

“Is that more comfortable for you?” he asked. “That form, I mean.”

Reiji glanced up at him with surprise, and then, as though he hadn’t noticed he’d changed, reached back to touch one of his tails. Yuya tried to count them, but they kept swishing, and some were curled behind him. He had to have at least six, though, maybe more. 

“Yes,” Reiji said. “When I am in your world, it feels the most natural. My human face is...well, it’s akin to having to hold a mask onto your face with your hands all day. Possible, but eventually tiring.”

His true form...Yuya hadn’t really thought about it, but if Reiji was a yokai, this shape probably wasn’t what he really looked like. What was he, really? It didn’t seem like a polite question to ask.

“I am a kitsune,” Reiji said, as though in answer to the question Yuya hadn’t asked. “Someday, I will show you what I truly look like. In your world, however it takes quite a bit of energy to transform.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay!” Yuya said quickly. “I don’t mind. I guess I was just curious”

A kitsune, though...maybe Yuya should have done some research on yokai. He only knew that that meant Reiji was a fox yokai. He thought there was something important about the number of tails, as well, but he wasn’t sure.

“Who was that cat, then?” Yuya asked. “Um. I mean. You’re the...the head of the kitsune, right? That’s why you...”

 _That’s why you’re one of the ones who can try to marry me_ , he couldn’t quite say out loud. It was still too embarrassing, and too weird.

Reiji nodded with a faint smile.

“I am,” he said. “As the head of a clan, I am one of those who has the right to challenge for your hand. But, as I was the first person to find you...the other clans will have to challenge me first.”

So that was how it worked? Yuya wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of a bunch of strangers fighting over him — but at least it was a little less upsetting than thinking about getting eaten.

“As for Selena, you are correct. She is not a kitsune, and not officially a member of my clan,” he said. “She is a nekomata. However, for reasons of her own, she has agreed to assist me, and so she stays here.”

He looked apologetic, tucking his hands back into his sleeves.

“I apologize for sending her to follow you. I knew I would not be able to watch over you myself at the time, and I wanted to protect you from any more surprise attacks.”

“She did kind of scare me,” Yuya admitted. “But I guess that’s better than getting eaten, so I’ll let it slide this time.”

Reiji smiled faintly, eyes softening, and it made Yuya feel funny in his stomach.

He frowned then, suddenly realizing where he’d seen Selena before. That cat at school...but Yuzu had been able to see it. Could Selena make herself seen to humans, like Reiji? He wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure if it mattered, so he let it go.

“Are there any other yokai around that I should know are okay?” he said, trying to keep his voice joking. “I’d hate to accidentally punch one of your friends.”

Reiji let out a breathy laugh that sounded more fox than human. It was kind of cute, actually.

“There are a few others I’ve brought along with me,” he said. “You met Tsukikage and Hikage outside. Both of them are kitsune as well, but they struggle more with keeping human shapes, thus the veils.”

He hummed, tilting his head as though making a mental head count.

“Then there is also...”

One of the sliding doors slammed open, and Yuya jumped.

“Is he here? Is that him? Why didn’t you say he was here, Reiji!”

A small, blurred shape bolted into the room, and before Yuya could do more than gape, hopped onto Yuya’s shoulders, arms latching around him. Yuya _nearly_ panicked, if not for the long-suffering expression that suddenly crossed Reiji’s face.

“Sora,” he said, with an extremely tired voice. “Would you please consider _not_ choking him to death?”

“What? But I’m just saying hello!” the voice called Sora said.

His face was so close to Yuya’s that Yuya could barely tell what he looked like, save for his big, bright green eyes.

“Oy, oy, oy, don’t you put your hands all over him like that! Reiji will eat you, you know!”

“He’ll eat you first, Sawatari,” Sora shot back, but he finally let go of Yuya, bouncing instead to sit on top of the table.

Sora looked like a small, fair skinned boy, with bright green eyes and candy-blue hair. He, too, wore a kimono and haori, as blue as his hair. It was quite obvious that he wasn’t human, however, because aside from the slit pupils of his eyes, there was a big white horn curving straight out of his forehead.

The second voice belonged to a yokai who looked like he was around Yuya’s age, brown hair with blond bangs swooped over his eyes. Unlike Sora and Reiji, he did not wear a kimono, dressed instead like an ordinary person, button up shirt and loose slacks. At first, it was difficult to recognize him as a yokai, until Yuya noticed the small rounded animal ears poking out of his hair and the thick fuzzy tail that swished behind him — and his particularly long, sharp nails.

The brown haired yokai hummed as he marched across the room, leaning down and shoving his face inches from Yuya’s. Yuya leaned back with surprise, but the yokai boy only leaned forward even further, so that they were inches apart. His eyes roved over Yuya with an expression that Yuya could only describe as appraising.

“Now who’s getting all up in his space,” Sora said.

“Hmph,” said Sawatari, standing up and folding his arms. “He’s skinny. Not at all as impressive as I thought the bride would be!”

“Sawatari, Sora, that’s enough from both of you,” Reiji said, in an exhausted voice that made it clear that dealing with them was a daily drudgery.

Sora giggled, rolling onto his stomach to lay across the table with his legs kicking back and forth, resting his head on his hands so he could watch Yuya more easily.

“As I was about to say,” Reiji said patiently. “A few others of my household have come along with me as well. This is Shiunin Sora, and Sawatari Shingo.”

“Uh, I’m Sakaki Yuya,” Yuya said, trying to get his head screwed back on from the shock.

“We know,” Sora said, grinning. “You’re basically all Reiji’s thought about for _years_.”

“After all this excitement, I certainly thought you’d be more interesting,” Sawatari sniffed. “You’re supposed to be full of power for the yokai? I can’t believe it. You don’t even smell all that good.”

“Um, I think that’s...good? For me, at least?” Yuya said. "It means you won't eat me?"

Sawatari gave him the most offended look Yuya had ever seen on anyone, as though he were horrified by the idea that someone might think he was desperate enough to eat Yuya. Somehow, it was annoying. He glanced between the two of them, confused — it was obvious neither of them were kitsune, either. Was it rude to ask?

“Sora and Sawatari are two other yokai who have come to stay with me for reasons of their own,” Reiji said. “Sora is an oni. Sawatari is a kamaitachi.”

 _An ogre and a sickle weasel,_ Yuya remembered. Neither were the kind of yokai he would immediately consider benevolent, so he glanced at them with just the briefest spurt of nervousness.

Sora seemed to have been distracted by the casserole dish on the table, jumping off so that he could lean in and stare at it. He tapped the lid with one finger. Sawatari still just hmphed at him, looking for all the world like a self-important teenager more than a yokai. Well, Yuya thought, slowly relaxing. If they were Reiji’s friends, they must be safe.

“There is one other here, though I believe he is out,” Reiji said, looking at Sawatari as though for confirmation.

“Dennis? Yes, he’s gone,” Sawatari said, wrinkling his nose. “Out playing tricks on the locals, I’d imagine.”

Reiji sighed.

“Dennis is another kitsune,” he explained to Yuya. “You should meet him later, I hope.”

“I guess I’ll look forward to that, then,” Yuya said, smiling. “This feels...kinda weird for me, actually? I’m not used to not having to pretend I don’t see yokai.”

Reiji chuckled softly.

“I think you would have a hard time ignoring this motley crew,” he said.

“Hey! I resemble that remark,” Sora said, still fascinated by the casserole dish. He seemed to be trying to figure out how to take the lid off.

Sawatari rolled his eyes, and Reiji chuckled. Yuya couldn’t help but smile. There was something...light about the way Reiji interacted with them. As though he were more relaxed than usual. They must be good friends, despite their needling. Somehow, that made Yuya feel warm to think that Reiji hadn’t been alone all this time.

The door opened silently, and Tsukikage’s face appeared, fox ears twitching.

“Reiji-dono,” he said. “There is a messenger at the door for you.”

Reiji frowned, brow furrowing.

“Is it important?”

“I believe it is, Reiji-dono.”

Reiji sighed. His ears folded back against his head in annoyance.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to Yuya, rising. “Sawatari. Sora. Do _not_ antagonize him.”

“Yessir,” Sora said, saluting.

Sawatari only harumphed, but his ears folded back against his head when Reiji shot him a sharp look. Yuya bit his lip as he watched Reiji disappear through the door. A messenger, huh? He wondered what it was about.

“I think Reiji is _too_ nice,” Sawatari said, drawing Yuya’s attention back to the room. “He ought to get you to marry him right now. It’s for the best for the clan — the clan heads rarely find the bride so quickly!”

“He must _really_ like you,” Sora said. He’d gotten the casserole dish open, and was poking at the food and sniffing at it experimentally. “Reiji _always_ does whatever he thinks is best for the clan, even if he doesn’t like it. But he didn't force you. That's interesting.”

“That’s why he ought to take hold of this chance, before the other clan heads can declare a challenge,” Sawatari said, pointing into the air as though it were responsible for this. “Once they lay a challenge, Reiji can’t perform the ceremony until he wins. It’s preposterous!”

He jabbed his finger into Yuya’s face, then, and Yuya leaned back, away from his very sharp, talon-like nails.

“Just what is so special about you?” he demanded. “That would make Reiji act so irresponsibly!”

“I...” Yuya said, leaning back. “I don’t know, okay. We were friends when we were kids...”

“And why not just marry him now, then?” Sora asked. He scooped out a handful of casserole with his bare hands, and stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed another handful, eyes half closing in delight. He continued to talk as though his mouth weren’t full. “I mean, it’s gotta be easier than just trying to survive for a whole year, right? And Reiji might lose a challenge. The other clan heads might not be so nice.”

Yuya hadn’t even thought of that. He squirmed uncomfortable, hands pressed into his lap.

“I just...” he said. “I don’t think you guys would really get it — for humans, marriage is...it’s really, really big. I’m still...I’m not much more than a kid.”

“So?” Sora said, blinking at him.

He grimaced.

“I told you you wouldn’t get it,” he said. “Humans aren’t like yokai.”

“Well, of course, I could have told you _that_ ,” Sora scoffed. He picked up the casserole dish with both hands and tipped it towards his face, making loud munching sounds as he buried his whole face in the food.

Sawatari glowered at Yuya again, and Yuya tried not to think about almost being eaten. They had _sort_ of a point...it would be safer for him to just marry Reiji now, rather than hope he made it to his next birthday. It was unfair to ask Reiji to protect him for nothing in return, when what Reiji really needed was to take care of his clan.

But...he bit his lip. He felt like...it might be _more_ unfair to marry Reiji just for his own protection. If he was going to marry someone he...he wanted it to be because he wanted to be with them forever. The thought of doing that to Reiji, to marry him without knowing for sure if Yuya felt that way towards him...he didn’t want to hurt Reiji like that.

“I just need some more time to think about it,” Yuya said quietly.

“Well you might not have much more,” Sawatari said darkly. “It’s only a matter of time before the clans realize you’ve been awoken, and set up a gathering.”

“Unfortunately, that time has run out.”

Yuya sat straight up, Reiji appearing in the doorway. His jaw was set, expression grim. His tails bushed out behind him, undulating in a wave of silver fur.

“What’s wrong?” Yuya asked.

Reiji pressed his lips together, looking at Yuya with a faint glimmer of...regret?

“The clans have noticed your awakening,” he said. “A meeting has been called.”

“I told you,” Sawatari said, throwing his hands into the air.

“What does that mean?” Yuya asked, his heart picking up.

“It means: the shitstorm is about to start,” Sora said.

Reiji gave Sora a look, raising his eyebrows. He shook his head, then with a sigh.

“That may be the most precise way to put it,” he said. “What it means, Yuya, is that the clans know you have awakened. They are getting ready to make their claims for you.”

Yuya’s stomach twisted, and in response to his unspoken words, Reiji nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “This is where the hard part begins.”


	6. To Protect

Yuzu knew that hiding in her room was the fastest way to draw her dad’s attention, but she couldn’t bring herself to act normal for the time it would take to announce she was home, fake small talk, and then excuse herself upstairs. She needed somewhere to hide, somewhere to still the tangled thoughts that still rattled in her head and regain some semblance of calm.

So she didn’t say anything in response to her father’s cheery greeting from the down the hall, slipped out of her shoes, and hurried upstairs as fast as she could, closing her door behind her.

She didn’t even bother turning on the lights. She just pressed into the wood of her door, feeling at the grains with her fingertips, and stared into the gloomy darkness. Her bag slowly slid off her shoulder, and she let it fall to the floor.

Her heart hummed in her chest, still beating so fast even after the long bus ride back. She could barely think past the thoughts that continued to play on repeat in her head.

The shrine. The man called Roget. _The Hiiragi family was a family of exorcists_. And most importantly, the shocked, almost mortified look on Masumi’s face, a look that Yuzu knew Masumi well enough to interpret.

Whatever Roget had said, it had meant something to Masumi. Which meant that there was some truth in it.

Yuzu began to spin her bracelet around her wrist, over and over again — a nervous tic she’d picked up years ago and never let go of. This bracelet...she’d had it for so long. All she remembered was her father saying that her mother left it to her, and she’d never taken it off since. Odd, though...how she’d never really thought about it...

“Yuzu? Is everything all right??”

Right on cue. Yuzu sucked in a steadying breath. But what to say? What could she say that would deflect her father’s suspicions? How could she get him off her back before he started to panic and called the fire department to break down her door?

Or...

Hadn’t...Roget known her father’s name? He’d said something about him leaving the family because...

Before she could think about it, Yuzu turned and opened the door. Her father was in mid knock, and had to quickly right himself before he accidentally flailed his hand into Yuzu’s head. He looked so worried, and she felt a twinge of guilt. 

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” he asked, stepping forward, arms outstretched for a hug, but clearly resisting the urge to simply envelop her right there. “You look upset!! What happened? Did you have a bad day? Did something happen while you were out?”

He was just so _earnest_. He could never hide a single thing from her.

Could he hide his origin as an _exorcist_ from her all these years?

Yuzu opened her mouth. She closed it again. How could she possibly ask him something like this? It sounded crazy even to _think_ the words, let alone say them. And if she asked, she’d have to explain how she knew to ask. She’d have to explain about Yuya, and yokai — she’d have to reveal Yuya’s secret, without his permission. Yuya never wanted anyone to know about his power — he was afraid what would happen if people knew that the yokai were real. 

But if her father used to be an exorcist, would he know about yokai? Could she ask him? Could she learn anything from him? Or was it true what Roget had said, that her father had left his family because he didn’t have any gift? Surely she would have known if he did. Wouldn’t she? It _was_ a little strange how she knew absolutely nothing of her grandparents... Would she be bringing up bad memories if she said anything?

Her father didn’t seem to be able to hold himself back any longer, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She let him, sighing as she dropped his face against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his back.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right, Yuzu?” he said. “If anything’s going wrong...”

She smiled faintly. She couldn’t ask him after all.

“I know,” she said. “Thanks, dad. I just...I saw Masumi, and we got into a bit of a fight again. It drained me.”

“Oh, that girl,” her father said with a snort. “Doesn’t she have anything better to do?”

Yuzu laughed softly as her father squeezed her tight. The half-lie sat uncomfortably in her stomach. But she took a deep breath, and let it out.

She was going to have to get to the bottom of this on her own.

And the first step was confronting Yuya.

* * *

Yuya kicked a rock down the sidewalk, coiling his hands into fists.

 _“Absolutely not,”_ _Reiji said, lips tightening. “You are not coming.”_

 _“But this gathering thing is about_ me _,” Yuya said, leaning up on his knees over the table. “Should I be there? So that I know what’s coming?”_

_“You’d be surrounded by hundreds of yokai,” said Reiji. He shook his head, tails lashing briefly. “If you weren’t snatched up by another clan while my head was turned, you’d be swarmed in an instant.”_

_Sora’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two, clearly entertained by the conversation._

_“If they know the bride is awake, the other clans will send out yokai to search for it,” Sawatari interrupted. “If you’re at the gathering, away from the bride, he might get snatched up anyway.”_

_“I have a name,” Yuya grumbled, bristling a bit at being referred to as “the bride.”_

_Reiji shot Sawatari a warning look as well, as though telling him not to interrupt. Sawatari only shrugged._

_“That’s why you and Selena will continue to watch over him while I’m gone,” Reiji said._

_“Oy, I didn’t agree to that,” Sawatari said, tail lashing irritably._

_“I don’t need to be babysat!” Yuya said, even though, logically, he knew he_ did _need to be babysat considering what had happened the last time he’d gotten cornered by a yokai. “This is about my life, Reiji! If these other clan leaders are going to be fighting over me, I need to know what’s coming!”_

_Reiji was unmoved, hands tucked into the sleeves of his kimono. He shook his head._

_“I will not take you into that viper’s nest,” he said._

_“Reiji,” Yuya said again, but he stopped when Reiji rose. He took up so much more space with his tails fanned out behind him, making him look so...otherworldly. His sharp violet eyes fixed on Yuya’s, and Yuya felt his breath, his words, all melt away. He had such beautiful eyes, he thought._

_Reiji’s gaze softened then. Yuya sucked in a faint breath when Reiji reached over the table, touched Yuya’s face gently with two fingers — so brief and so light that it almost seemed like the idea of a touch rather than an actual one. Reiji leaned away again._

_“You don’t need to worry,” he said, his voice soft and calm. “I_ will _protect you. I won’t let any other clan leader take you away.”_

_His eyes were so shining with determination. Yuya wanted to keep protesting. But in the shadow of his gaze, he found he couldn’t._

_“Okay,” he whispered.”_

Yuya kicked another rock, listening to the sound of it scattering down the park’s path. Stupid Reiji. Seducing him into not arguing anymore.

Just thinking that made Yuya’s cheeks burn, though — Reiji hadn’t been _trying_ to seduce him. Yuya was projecting, and just acknowledging that he was thinking that was made him feel so — gah! 

Why wouldn’t Reiji let him get close? He thought, a sad, gray feeling spreading through him in place of his frustration. It was like he wanted to keep Yuya at an arm’s length, not let him get involved with the disaster surrounding his own life.

_“I will protect you.”_

It was the way he said it. That soft, gentle promise of his voice. It made Yuya’s heart do strange, wibbly wobbly things. Was it just because of nostalgia for a childhood friend, a childhood promise? Was it just because he really _was_ so dang pretty, and Yuya was a useless gay for a pair of pretty eyes? That’s what Yuzu would have teased if she were here.

Yuya wandered into the park and sighed, flopping into the nearest bench. Thinking about Yuzu made him realize he hadn’t checked his phone all day. He started to dig in his pocket, but when he drew out the phone, he hesitated before turning on the screen.

What was he going to tell her about all of this?

The day he’d told her about his sight, he’d been terrified. He’d worried she wouldn’t believe him, that she’d think he was lying, or worse, that she’d think he was just hallucinating, a stress reaction to his father’s disappearance.

But to his relief, she’d believed him without question. Even if she were just playing along, she’d never acted that way. She’d supported him about it, let him vent in private when he was sure no yokai were hiding in his closet and listening. Without her, he thought he might have gone mad a long time ago.

But could he tell her the truth about this? Could he tell her what was happening to him now? She’d worry. She already worried enough about him. He was always leaning on her, making her deal with his problems. If she knew that it was open season on him from dangerous yokai she couldn’t see...what would she do? 

He let his hand and the phone fall to his leg, sighing. There was no way he could explain something like this. She’d be horrified. He couldn’t ask her for advice on something like this. So he just leaned forward, resting his head between his knees, and sighed.

What was he going to do? Live in worry until his eighteenth birthday, letting Reiji protect him, with a black cat trailing him out of the corner of his eye the whole way? He could see Selena, in her cat form, half concealed behind a bush. Clearly she wasn’t trying to hide from him, or he was sure he wouldn’t be able to see her. She sat primly, licking one paw and pointedly not looking at him. Yuya wondered if Sawatari was following him now, too.

“Are you all alone out here, cutie?”

Yuya jumped, sitting up quickly.

A girl had appeared in front of him out of nowhere. He tensed, nervous automatically. But...if she were a yokai, Selena would have chased her off, right?

She was...pretty, he thought, looking up at her. Her long silver hair tumbled down her back, shimming where it framed her pale skin. Her eyes were a startlingly bright green, catching his gaze so powerfully that he felt suddenly very...very...sluggish....

“I...uh...” he said. “N...no...?”

“You’re not?” the girl said, leaning in. Her hair slid over her shoulders, hanging down between them like a curtain. He couldn’t see Selena through the wave of hair. Was this...this didn’t feel right. “That’s a shame...I was hoping to get to know you a little better...”

She was so close. Her fingers grazed the side of his neck and they felt like ice.

“I...I don’t...” he tried to say, but his throat felt so tight. He couldn’t stop staring at her eyes. Her lips were coming very, very close to his — 

Faster than he could blink, she darted forward. He couldn’t even scream — he was so frozen in place as her teeth tore into his shoulder. Warm blood bubbled to the surface of his skin and a sharp, burning pain suddenly shot through him. He couldn’t move. His mouth was frozen open in a silent scream. Selena — where was — Selena — 

“Don’t worry,” the girl whispered, running a finger over his lips. “You’re not a yokai. My poison is quite slow to kill humans. I’ll bring you back to the clan and give you the antidote before you die.”

She licked her bloody lips, her pupils turning to snake-like slits of delight.

“Although...I wonder if I’ll be able to resist another bite...”

A snarl cut through the air, and then suddenly the blurred black shape of Selena crashed through the air, slamming into the yokai girl’s side. The yokai swore as she staggered back in the whirl of Selena’s claws.

Yuya couldn’t move — he could barely move his eyes to catch the scene. Selena shifted back into a half human shape, her split tail lashing, claws long and sharp from her hands as she hissed and arched her back. The silver haired yokai hissed back, showing off long, thin fangs like a snake’s. Silvery white scales grew along the sides of her face and down her neck, and now that she wasn’t standing right in front of him, Yuya could see that she didn’t have legs — instead she had a long, silver-white snake tail that coiled along the ground.

Selena was a whirl of claws and teeth, moving too quickly for the snake woman’s darting snaps to grab at her. But then a second blur caught his attention from the other side of him, and he desperately tried to move. A second woman, with burning pink snake’s eyes and golden scales that matched her golden hair loomed over him, wiping a gash of blood from the side of her forehead where Selena must have struck her. There were two yokai — no wonder Selena had been distracted.

This woman didn’t bother to tease him. She only hissed irritably, reaching out to grab him. Yuya tried desperately to move, to make a sound, to do _something_.

“Yuya? _There_ you are. I’ve been look — are you — are you _bleeding_?”

The voice cut through him like a knife, and his eyes widened. The snake yokai flicked her gaze over her shoulder, lips curling with irritation.

Yuzu stood at the entrance to the park, eyes wide with concern.

“Yuya? Yuya, are you okay?”

Yuya couldn’t make a sound. He could only widen his eyes, hoping that she could see the warning in them, hoping she’d run. But she only saw the fear in his eyes, and she moved towards him faster. She couldn’t see them — she couldn’t see the snake yokai women, couldn’t see Selena fighting with the silver snake, couldn’t see anything except a frozen, bleeding Yuya.

“Oh my god, what _happened_ , you’re —”

The gold snake woman snarled. She yanked on Yuya’s arm, dragging him off the bench before Yuzu could reach him. Yuzu’s eyes bulged with shock as she watched, from her eyes — Yuya suddenly being yanked through the air. Yuya hit the ground hard, the air rushing out of him. His limbs flopped like a rag doll, and Yuzu screamed.

“Yuya! What’s happening?? Is it a yokai? Where is it?”

She started flailing her arms around, spinning in circles, trying to strike at something she couldn’t see. The gold snake’s eyes narrowed, suddenly fixing on Yuzu.

“So you know we’re here, do you, little morsel?” the silver snake hissed, sounding fascinated as she staggered back over to the other. Selena staggered after her, bleeding down her arms as she hissed, trying to get on its back.

“What an absolute pain,” the gold snake hissed, though hunger narrowed her pupils. “But this one doesn’t _have_ to be alive...”

Yuzu swung her arms around again, and Yuya tried, _tried_ to get feeling into his limbs, into his throat — Yuzu _run, run run run_ — 

The golden snake yokai reached for Yuzu, her taloned hand groping for her while she kept a tight hold on Yuya with the other. Yuya tried again to scream.

Then a thin, low whistling sound echoed through the park. The yokai hesitated. Even Yuzu froze, clearly hearing it just as clearly.

A thin line of red opened along the gold snake’s shoulder. Then blood burst from the wound, and she shrieked. She stumbled back with a loud cry of pain, releasing Yuya. Another whistle, and then another invisible slash, across her hip this time.

Yuzu dropped to her knees beside Yuya as a new shadow emerged out of the copse of park trees. This time, Yuzu’s eyes shot up to it, and Yuya knew she could see him.

He wondered, though, how much of Reiji that Yuzu could see. Did she see him as the human face he wore at school? Or could she see the bristling mass of silvery tails writhing behind him, the sharp, almost glowing color to his eyes, the fangs that he bared in a warning snarl?

Reiji darted to Yuya’s side, dropping to one knee beside him. His eyes quickly roved over him, latching onto the sight of the bleeding wound. He touched it gently, then looked at the blood on his fingers, jaw tensing.

“I don’t know what happened!” Yuzu cried. “I — I dropped my phone, I can’t call an ambulance —”

“It will be all right,” Reiji said, in that soft, calming voice of his. “Stay with him a moment.”

Yuzu grabbed Yuya’s hand, clutching at it while Reiji rose, facing the two snake yokai. Selena staggered over to him in cat form, bleeding from a torn gash her shoulder, but still hissing, hackles raised. 

The gold snake’s lips curled as she held her hands against her bleeding cuts. The silver snake cried out with shock at the other’s wounds, hurrying over to her.

“Stay back, sister,” the gold snake snapped, eyes fixed on Reiji. “He wasn’t the one who struck. There is a kamaitachi hidden away.”

Reiji held her gaze firmly, the two off them staring off. Yuya wondered who was going to win.

“Begone,” Reiji finally said, fur bristling. “I have already struck the first claim. Should your clan wish to make a challenge, you can do it at the gathering.”

The yokai woman’s lips curled. Then after a beat, she snorted.

“We’ll give up for today, kitsune,” she said. “But be warned — my sister alone has the antidote to her poison.”

She smirked, lips curling back to show her fangs. The silver snake giggled. And with that, she grabbed her sister’s hand, and the pair of snake yokai disappeared into the brush. Reiji stared them off a moment longer.

Yuya let out a shuddering breath, shivering. He could barely move. Was he going to die? But Reiji reacted to the sound of his breath, immediately wheeling and dropping down beside him. Yuzu was sobbing. Her hands crushed Yuya’s, and he just tried to breathe.

“Let me see,” Reiji said, softly turning Yuya over, propping him up in his arms.

“What happened to him? What’s going on?” Yuzu demanded through her tears. He tried to squeeze her hand to reassure her, but he couldn’t even move his fingers. His vision was starting to go out.

“It will be all right,” Reiji reassured her again. “I’m going to have to remove the poison.”

Was it just Yuya’s imagination, or did he hear the faintest waver in Reiji’s voice? Was that...panic? Barely concealed, cracking the edges of his tone?

“N-no,” Yuya tried to croak. “R-Reiji, it’s...the p-poison”

_She said the poison would hurt yokai more than humans, you have to be careful, Reiji, please —_

But Reiji didn’t hesitate. He pulled Yuya’s shirt down around his shoulder, away from the wound, and then pressed his lips to Yuya’s skin. Yuya sucked in a breath as he felt his blood bubbling up to his skin, as Reiji began to suck the venom out of him. Yuzu let out a choked gasping sound, tugging on Yuya’s arm — but she didn’t try to drag him away.

Reiji spat blood onto the ground, then began to kiss at the wound again. He spat out two more mouthfuls of poisoned blood before the wound finally closed. Before feeling started to run back down to Yuya’s fingers. He shuddered and gasped, curling and uncurling his fingers.

“Yuya!” Yuzu cried, throwing her arms around him despite the blood that stained his shoulder and neck. “Yuya, oh my god, Yuya —”

Yuya managed to coil a reassuring arm around her, closing his eyes as he finally felt able to breathe clear breaths. Strength slowly returned to his limbs, and he curled his legs up, pressing one hand to the ground to steady himself.

“I’m okay,” he mumbled to the still sobbing Yuzu. “I’m okay...”

Something moved in his peripherals, though, and he lifted his head.

Reiji staggered on his feet, swaying dangerously. Oh, no, had he swallowed any of it? Was he poisoned?

“R-Reiji — Reiji, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Reiji said, though the tense, clipped edges of his tone made Yuya think he was lying. “I just need — to rest —”

When he swayed again, Selena appeared, darting to his side and propping him up. Reiji leaned on her with a wince. 

“You’re hurt, too,” Yuya said, heart leaping as he saw the gash running down Selena’s arm.

Selena just snorted, shaking her head.

“Only got me with her claws, not her teeth,” she said. “You get back to your house. I’ll take care of this one. Sawatari will watch over you on the way back.”

“But —”

“I’ll be fine,” Reiji said, sounding exhausted but calm. “You need rest, yourself. And...I suppose you’ll need to speak with your friend.”

Yuzu still clung to him, shaking, though she stared suspiciously at Reiji and Selena now, her arms tightening around him. Yuya hugged her gently back. He felt so, so _tired_. He wanted to protest. He wanted to go with Reiji. This was his fault...if he hadn’t been so irritable, hadn’t gone off on his own like this...Reiji wouldn’t have had to...

But he swallowed it all down, the apologies, the protests. He just nodded, numb and exhausted. But his eyes lingered on Reiji’s a moment, trying to see how bad it was. Reiji met his gaze with that same calm look as always, and Yuya couldn’t read it.

 _He’s going to be all right, isn’t he?_ he thought, as he allowed Yuzu to help him to his feet and guide him back out of the park. _He wouldn’t die for me, would he?_

He looked back over his shoulder, at the fuzzy outline of Reiji with his sharp ears, the mass of tails.

 _Why would he go so far for me?_ he thought. _Is it only because I’m the bride?_

_But then...why doesn’t he try to convince me to marry him?_

_Why does he protect me?_


	7. The Things We Want

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of update last week, for those of you aware of American political cycles, I'm sure you can understand why I had no motivation ;w; trying my best to stay up to date on this one since it's really just a self indulgence for myself haha; thank you so much to everyone who's been commenting so far, it really makes my day <3

“You have to tell me what’s going on.”

Yuya tried to avoid Yuzu’s sharp gaze. He made a show of turning around so that he could shrug off his shirt, dumping it into the hamper. He hoped he could get the blood out before his mom noticed.

Yuzu walked past him and pulled the shirt back out of the hamper while he grabbed a different shirt off the pile on his chair and pulled it on over his head.

“Hydrogen peroxide and cold water,” she said, pointing at the stain. “You have to do it right away.”

“Maybe I should just throw it away,” he muttered, but Yuzu had that look in her eyes. He wasn’t getting out of this, that was for sure. 

Sighing, he went downstairs to retrieve the bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Yuzu was already wetting a cloth with cold water in the sink upstairs when he returned, starting to dab at the stain. She took the bottle from him without looking at him, and dabbed a bit onto the cloth before gently pressing the cloth to the stain.

Yuya sat down on the toilet, leaning his elbows on his knees.

“So?” Yuzu said, after a moment of silence. “I’m not just doing this for fun. Start telling me what’s going on.”

Yuya had been trying to figure out a way to avoid telling her everything. To say it had just been a freak accident that a yokai had attacked him. That Reiji wasn’t a yokai. But when Yuzu shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, he knew he couldn’t lie. He’d only worry her more by not telling the truth at this point. He sighed again.

The words came slowly. Yuzu continued to carefully clean up the stain on his shirt while Yuya continued to talk. He explained his friendship with Reiji as a child, and that Reiji was a yokai, the head of a clan. He told her everything Reiji had told him, about his role as the yokai’s bride, about his time limit. Yuzu didn’t say a word, eyes fixed on her task. Dabbing the stain with cold water. Sopping up with a dry cloth. Dabbing with more cold water.

“But if I can make it to my eighteenth birthday...I’ll lose my sight, and they won’t target me anymore,” Yuya said. “Reiji said he’d protect me until then.”

Yuzu draped the now mostly clean shirt over the edge of the tub to dry, laying out the rags she’d used beside it. She turned to face him, barely more than a few inches away from him crunched up together in the tiny bathroom. She folded her arms.

“And do you believe him?” she asked.

Yuya blinked, looking up at her. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected the first thing she’d say would be when he finally stopped, but it wasn’t that.

“I...he’s already saved my life twice,” he said.

“Isn’t he just trying to convince you to marry him?” Yuzu said. Her fingers tightened into her arms. “I don’t like this, Yuya.”

“Reiji hasn’t done anything to hurt me, or to put me in danger,” Yuya said, frowning. “He told me that he won’t make me get married to him.”

Something in Yuzu crumbled, and she let out a breath, sinking to lean against the wall behind her, her arms sliding out to hang at her sides.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I just...this is a lot. And it’s so...coincidental. That he left and just came back the  _ day _ before this all happened?”

She tugged at one of her pigtails, biting her lip. Yuya clasped his hands together. His neck still panged with the ghost memory of those fangs biting into him, the burning, numbing poison that rushed through his body. The feeling of Reiji’s warm lips on his skin.

“If...if he really wanted to coerce me,” Yuya said, “I don’t think he would have told me about the time limit.”

Yuzu flicked her eyes down to him. She continued to run her fingers through her pigtails.

“I mean, if I thought that this was going to go on forever, I might think about...just giving up,” Yuya said. “But...he told me the truth, Yuzu. And back when we were friends...”

He didn’t remember much of it. But he remembered how warm Reiji’s hand had been. How gently he’d stroked Yuya’s hair. How he’d comforted him, taken care of him.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But he’s not trying to force me into anything so far, Yuzu.”

Yuzu bit her lip, hard. Then she let out a heavy breath.

“You really trust him, huh?” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Okay, Yuya. I’ll leave off on that.”

She stared up at the ceiling, then. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Yuya’s hands started trembling and he pressed them together tighter. Was it just now setting in that he’d nearly died again? Was the late panic just starting to rise up?

“So what are you going to do?” Yuzu asked.

“Do?”

“I mean...are you going to marry him?” Yuzu asked. “Or one of the other yokai? Or are you going to just...try to survive until the end?”

Yuya stared at the floor, pressing his hands together tightly.

“I...I don’t  _ know _ ,” he said, and his voice cracked. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

It broke something in him. The tears started rushing down his face so fast that he couldn’t wipe them all away. Yuzu’s arms were around him in an instant, and he clung to her, shaking so hard he was certain he would have collapsed to the floor without Yuzu holding him up.

“I don’t know,” he said again. “I don’t know.”

_ I didn’t even know what I wanted to do after high school. I don’t know what to do about a decision like this. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t even know what I don’t know. _

“I’m sorry,” Yuzu mumbled. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked a stupid question like that. I’m sorry.”

He wanted to tell her that she had nothing to apologize for, but he couldn’t. He could only sob, remembering how scared he’d been — how scared he still was. And remembering that faint, panicked look in Reiji’s eyes when he’d propped Yuya up, the crack in Reiji’s voice. The way he’d swayed and staggered after he’d healed Yuya. Reiji could have  _ died _ .

Yuya still didn’t know if it was just because of  _ what  _ he was, or if Reiji was telling the truth. If he really cared for Yuya.

And he didn’t know, either, why  _ not  _ knowing that upset him nearly as much as the fear of almost dying did.

He wasn’t sure how long he cried, but by the time he finished, he felt so drained that he might have fallen asleep right there in the bathroom. Yuzu still hugged him, though he could feel her trembling, too, and there were tears in his hair. How terrifying must it have been for her, to see him bleeding with no visible cause? To know the yokai was there, but have no way of fighting against it.

“I have something I need to tell you too,” she said.

Yuya shifted, and then she let go of him, leaning back on her heels. She looked flushed, and she had to rub at her wet eyes to regain her composure. Yuya didn’t think he could get words out through his throat, so he just waited for her to talk. What could she have to say that was anywhere near as world shaking as what he’d had to admit?

“I...I went investigating a little before I talked to you,” she said, staring at the corner of the bathroom rather than at him. “I thought maybe I could learn more about yokai and...help, somehow.”

Yuya sat up straight now.

“What? You have to be careful! You can’t see them! If they notice you trying to find them —”

“Look, I know, okay, it was dumb, but I was worried and you weren’t telling me anything,” she said, though she blushed. “I’ll just — I’ll cut to the end part. I met someone who said — said my dad was an exorcist.”

Yuya stared at her. Her...dad? Hiragi Shuzo? The dorky, over enthusiastic theater teacher? 

“You’re kidding,” he said.

“I don’t  _ know _ ,” Yuzu said. “They just...they said that my dad came from an exorcist family, but he didn’t have any powers but...I don’t know, I thought — if I come from some kind of exorcist family, maybe I could learn something. Maybe I could  _ help _ .”

“Yuzu, I don’t want you to put yourself in danger,” he said. “Please. I don’t have a choice, but you  _ do _ . I don’t want you getting mixed up in this.”

“I don’t have a choice either,” she said fiercely, meeting his eyes finally. “You’re my best friend, Yuya. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Not while I have anything to say about it.”

Yuya wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her to stay far, far away from yokai, to not get herself involved, to not put herself in the crossfire when she had literally no way of even seeing them coming. But Yuzu had that look in her eyes, that one that meant arguing was going to get them nowhere. There was nothing he could say right now that was going to sway her — and some part of him felt a strange, slumping relief. No matter what happened, he’d always have Yuzu. She’d never leave him behind, even if she knew she couldn’t do anything. And he shouldn’t have tried to keep her out of this.

He slumped forward, elbows on his knees and head lolling down.

“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”

“Nope,” Yuzu said. “I’m going to figure out something, and I’m going to help. You got it? You don’t do things on your own.”

Yuya laughed around the lump still choking his throat, fresh tears bubbling to his eyes.

“What would I do without you, huh?”

“You’d be totally incompetent,” she said, patting him on the head. “You’re so lucky to have me around.”

He laughed again, and she giggled as her eyes bubbled with tears again. He swallowed.

“Promise me you’ll be careful?” he said.

“Will you promise me that, too?”

He smiled, and held up his pinky, like they were twelve again. She smiled back. She twined her pinkie into his.

“We can’t really promise that, can we?” she said, still holding onto him.

Yuya smiled through the blur in his eyes.

“We really can’t.”

* * *

Reiji wasn’t at school the next morning. Yuzu shot Yuya a worried look, clearly wondering if he was all right. Yuya could barely meet her eyes, his gaze caught by the sight of Reiji’s empty desk. Was he not all right, after all? What had the poison done to him? Was he okay?

Yuzu didn’t stop him when he broke off from her on their way home to go up Reiji’s walk, and she didn’t follow. She did stand at the entry path, though, staring suspiciously at the house. He silently thanked her for understanding, and for being the skeptic he probably needed her to be. But he just had to see Reiji. He had to make sure he was all right.

Tsukikage opened the door for him, veiled as he peeked out through the crack.

“Is she a friend of yours, Yuya-dono?” he asked, nodding to Yuzu still standing at the end of the walk.

“Yeah,” Yuya said. “I don’t...think she wants to come in, though.”

Tsukikage nodded silently.

“Reiji-dono is resting. But I will take you to see him. Please, follow me, Yuya-dono.”

The kitsune bowed deeply as he let Yuya into the hallway.

“You, uh, you don’t have to call me that,” he said, as Tsukikage began to walk down the hallway. “I mean, I’m not a lord or anything.”

“You are my lord’s beloved,” Tsukikage said. “It is only correct that I should refer to you with respect.”

Yuya’s cheeks immediately burned red. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Tsukikage didn’t mean that did he?? Reiji had said he cared for Yuya, but it couldn’t go that far, could it?

Before Yuya could protest any further, however, Tsukikage had led him down to the end of the hallway. He pulled open the sliding door and bowed, deeply.

“Reiji-dono may be asleep,” Tsukikage said. “But he will be glad to know you have visited.”

Yuya hesitated, hovering just outside the threshold of the door. It opened into another traditional looking room, nearly the same as the room he’d first visited Reiji at, though it didn’t open into a porch. There was no table, either — just a futon laid out, and Reiji in the center of it.

His glasses were folded up on the floor near him. His eyes were closed, and his breath was so slow and steady that for one terrifying moment, Yuya thought he  _ wasn’t _ breathing. He turned towards Tsukikage, planning on asking him if Reiji was really all right. But Tsukikage had disappeared as silently as he appeared. Yuya turned back to face Reiji.

After taking a long, steadying breath, Yuya stepped inside. 

The distance between them was only three steps, and when he was over Reiji, he could see the blanket covering him rising and falling with his breaths. Yuya wavered a moment, then sat down on his knees next to Reiji. For a long time, the silence spread. His heart had begun to slow — seeing that Reiji was mostly all right relieved him. But...now what? He didn’t want to wake him...and yet, there was so much he wanted to say. 

Yuya found himself studying Reiji’s face. He was in his half fox form, his ears poking from his silvery hair. This close, he could see just how elegant the lines of his face were. He had long, dark eyelashes, thin, angled eyebrows. There was a pearlescent gleam to his skin, as though it were slightly ethereal. Inhuman, eerie, and yet...beautiful.

His cheeks flushed as he noticed where his mind was wandering. He shook his head so quickly that he smacked himself with his own bangs.

“Yuya...?”

Yuya sat up straight, eyes widening. Reiji’s eyes cracked open, his lips parting. He still looked half asleep as his irises flickered to Yuya, groggy, unfocused.

“Did I wake you up?” Yuya said, guilty.

Reiji just blinked, tired, as though he hadn’t quite heard Yuya. Perhaps he was still asleep.

“Are you...all right?” he murmured.

“I’m okay,” Yuya said. “Thanks to you.”

Reiji’s eyes fluttered shut again, his body relaxing.

“Good...that’s...good...”

For a moment, Yuya thought he had drifted back to sleep. But his throat loosened, and words tumbled out before he could say anything.

“You could have died,” he said. “That poison...you had to know that it could kill you. But you...anyway....”

His eyes blurred and he had to rub furiously at them.

“Why?” he mumbled. “Why are you going so far for me? I haven’t promised to marry you. I don’t know that I will. Protecting me will put you in danger, won’t it? Put your clan in danger? Why...for me...?”

His chest tightened and his throat filled, and he couldn’t speak through the lumps anymore. He fisted his knuckles against his eyes.

“Because...you are...” Reiji breathed, and Yuya jumped. He’d still been awake?

Reiji’s eyes half opened again, staring at the ceiling.

“I...want...to protect you,” Reiji breathed.

“Are you all right?” Yuya said, dropping down onto his hands, leaning over Reiji. “Don’t lie to me, are you going to be okay? That poison...”

Reiji’s eyes softened as his gaze managed to focus on Yuya. The faintest smile tugged at his exhausted expression.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. 

His arm, with some effort, extracted itself from the blankets. Yuya sucked in a breath as Reiji reached for him. His fingers gently traced against the side of Yuya’s face, briefly touched the hanging strands of his hair around his cheeks.

“I only needed...rest,” Reiji breathed. “I am...stronger than I look.”

When his hand drifted away, Yuya was seized with a sudden desire to grab hold of it. To draw it back to him. But he didn’t. 

“I still don’t understand,” Yuya said. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Reiji smiled a soft, tired smile.

“Haven’t I told you?” he said. “I care for you, Yuya.”

“Yeah but I — but  _ why _ ?” Yuya said. “We were childhood friends, but I don’t...I don’t...”

_ I barely remember it _ , he thought, guilt gnawing at his chest.

Reiji let out a tiny breath that might have been a laugh. His gaze shifted to the ceiling again as he took a deep breath.

“I remember,” Reiji said. “I remember every moment, every breath we spent together.”

His eyes began to droop again.

“And all I have ever wanted, all these years, was to protect that smile of yours.”

Yuya’s breath caught. He had to press a hand to his mouth to prevent the sob from escaping him. How could Reiji just...say things like that, without even thinking about it? Yuya still didn’t understand — how could someone like  _ him _ be so important to someone like Reiji? 

_ I want to remember, _ Yuya thought.  _ No, more than that — I want...I want to know him. I want to know more about Reiji. _

He looked so peaceful, sleeping there. Yuya leaned over him again, and without thinking about it, he reached over Reiji’s face. He brushed some of the bangs away from his forehead. Reiji didn’t stir.

Yuya drew his hand back and leaned back on his heels again. He clenched his hands together.

_ I want the chance to get to know him _ , he realized.  _ More than anything else, I... _

_ I want to know him. _

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello! yes i know i have other fanfiction that needs to be updated, but the world is burning down around our ears and i needed to write something totally self indulgent.
> 
> just as a quick note before we go further: this story is vaaaaaguely based on the manga series Black Bird. When I say vaguely, I mean I stole the premise and a few of the opening scenes and concepts, and then filled in with my own (more interesting) ideas.
> 
> To that end: I didn't really do all that much research on yokai! My knowledge of yokai comes from that one dubiously researched manga and Natsume's Book of Friends along with a bit of extra reading and poking about on the internet. This is not meant to be an accurate rendition of Japanese mythology whatsoever, and please do not consider it such! It is junk food. But I hope it's good junk food.
> 
> Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for not pestering me to continue my other multichapters. I know they're there. I will go back to them....eventually. I promise. Until then please have fun with this one.


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